Balloons
by Thegreenconsultingdragonlord
Summary: Elphaba befriends a new boy at Shiz, and for some odd reason, Fiyero isn't too happy about it. Elphaba/Fiyero. Musicalverse.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys, so this is my first long fic. I'll be uploading the new chapters as soon as I can. Please let me know in the reviews what you think? Even negative criticism is welcome. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Wicked... I'd be super rich and famous if I did, and clearly, I am not. **

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**Balloons **

**Chapter 1 **

Elphaba's legs were so sore from all the dancing she had done the night before, that she could barely walk. But it was worth it. She had woken up in the morning smiling from ear to ear. It was stupid, she knew, the night before had been utterly humiliating. What was she thinking, walking into the Ozdust with that ridiculous pointed hat? As if being green wasn't enough of an attention getter, she had to go and make herself look like a moss-covered Eiffel tower. It wasn't as if Elphaba didn't know how ugly that hat was... yet she couldn't resist wearing it. There was something about it that made her gravitate towards it. Maybe it was because it was the only gift anyone had ever given her. Apart from the gift of sarcastic retorts that the people of Munchkinland had so lovingly forced her to develop, what with all the awful insults she had to listen to growing up. But no, the night hadn't gone well, yet Elphaba hadn't remembered the last time she had been so happy. Not only had Galinda prevented her from further embarrassment by dancing with her, but in their room right after, she had told Elphaba that she wanted them to be friends. And she had called her 'Elphie'. Elphaba didn't know what to make of her new nickname or how she was going get out of Galinda's makeovers 'now that she was her new project' (she really didn't want to learn how to talk to boys and or how to flounce), but it felt incredibly nice just_ talking _to someone. Just having someone sympathize with her about her _actual_ problems instead of someone feeling pity for her because she was a - as people liked to put it - 'freak'.

Galinda's boyfriend had been really sweet too. He had danced with Elphaba three times (granted they weren't dancing alone, Galinda had insisted on the three of them dancing in a little triangle the whole night... but Elphaba had snuck off once the slow dances began) and they had chatted while they were waiting for their drinks to arrive and oddly enough, he hadn't mentioned Elphaba's green skin even once. It was odd... he didn't seem as arrogant and shallow as Elphaba had initially assumed him to be. Sure, he was a dumb, rich boy... but even after she first met him, Elphaba hadn't 'hated' him. He had made a bunch of aggravating comments when they first met (not to mention the fact that he had almost run her over), but for some reason it didn't bother her too much. Mostly because, for some reason, Fiyero wasn't freaked out by Elphaba's skin. He had made a joke when they met - something about her looking like a traffic light - but he wasn't... creeped out. Which is what most people's reactions to seeing her for the first time were. He didn't seem scared. Elphaba had thought he was an idiot though, and maybe he was... it wasn't like she knew him very well. But last night had proven that he wasn't as self-obsessed and shallow as he made it his business to appear to be.

Elphaba had heard the stories of Fiyero's first class in Shiz. He'd had Biology with Mr. Tinks. Apparently, he had distributed donuts to all his classmates (essentially securing his popularity) and had talked to the girl sitting behind him the entire class, laughing loudly at regular intervals. He only stopped talking to her for five minutes to eat a packet of chips, crumpling the bag loudly between each chip. He had distracted everyone and the most aggravating part of it all, - according to Elphaba, at least. Nessa, who was telling her the story, thought it was 'funny' - was that no one had said a thing to him. In fact, at the end of class three students had even asked him for his autograph. But Fiyero had redeemed himself... sort of. Not only had he dropped Elphaba and Glinda to their dorm to make sure nothing happened to them on their way back from the Ozdust (not that Elphaba had to worry about that. She had enough control over her magic to delay any attackers who tried to come after her) but he had also made sure that Nessa got to Madame Morrible's room safely. Boq had drunk too much punch during the party and was hardly able to stand by the end of the night. A few of his munchkin friends had dragged him back to him room as soon as the party was over.

Elphaba changed into a long dark navy skirt and a simple white shirt and headed over to the library. She had a free morning and had decided to finish her essay on '_The History of Munchkinland'. _Her dad being the governor and all, she didn't need to do much research, but she knew that it would look pretty stupid if she didn't get an A. So she thought she'd do some anyway... better safe than sorry.

Elphaba began dreaming about the book she had been reading the night before. It was called _The Fool on the Hill _and it had been so good... the plot twist where the man was actually after the dog and not the other man had completely taken her off-guard. _I can't believe_... Elphaba was in the middle of thinking, right before she walked straight into someone's chest. Her glasses fell off her face and clattered onto the ground.

"Damn." She muttered.

"Sorry." A sheepish voice said. Elphaba got a little breathless looking at the blurry shape. Shoving her glasses onto her face, she mumbled, "Nah. It was my fault."

Fiyero grinned, "Alright. If you insist."

Elphaba cocked an eyebrow, "What are you doing in the library any way?"

"Studying. What else would I be doing in the library?"

"Right."

"Ok fine." Fiyero looked sheepish again, "I was using the bathroom."

Elphaba smiled despite herself. She looked down, avoiding his gaze. It bothered her how attractive she found him. She didn't find many men attractive - not outside of her books, anyway - but Fiyero's looks had struck her from the moment she'd hit him on the head with a book. His sleepy blue eyes had looked at her and he'd pushed his unruly dark blond hair from them and she'd frozen for a second, forgetting how to breathe. He'd then demonstrated his arrogance and Elphaba snapped out of her trance faster than it took for Galinda to fall for him. Which hadn't been very long at all. Apparently, his 'scandalacious' reputation had reached her ears long before he'd come to Shiz.

"I'm actually glad I caught you, Elphaba." Fiyero said, his voice suddenly very earnest.

Elphaba looked up into his eyes, her heart beating inadvertently, "Yes?"

"You're in my history class, right? We have that essay on Munchkinland due in a few days and I was wondering if you could... you know... do it for me?" Fiyero widened his eyes, giving her a puppy dog look.

"What?" Elphaba was speechless.

"Come on, Elphaba, you're smart right? Can't you just write my paper for me?"

"I most certainly won't." Elphaba's anger was building up again. How the hell did she find this clown attractive?

"Elp-ha-baa." he said, extending her name in an annoying, pleading way, "I was so nice to you last night, can't you do a little thing for me?"

"I didn't ask you to be nice to me last night." Elphaba said, vehemently.

"I thought we were friends!"

"Screw you, Tiggular."

Fiyero's face broke into a half-smirk, "I can't say no to that."

"UGH!" Elphaba turned away just as the blush started creeping into her cheeks.

"Don't be such a squashed cabbage leaf." Fiyero had yelled irritably after her.

So he was just as arrogant and self-absorbed as she had initially thought. Of course he was, why else would he have been so nice to her? When she had contemplated it before sleeping, she had thought that maybe it was because he wanted to make Galinda happy, but the real reason was so much worse. She knew she was overreacting just a little, but last night was the first time she thought she had made friends who actually liked her, and to learn that Fiyero was just being nice to her so she could do his homework for Doctor Dillamond's class made her furious. What did she expect? She sighed to herself as she settled into her favourite library booth. She was just the odd, green bean. No one _wanted _to be friends with her. As much as she appreciated Galinda, even _she_ hadn't given her a chance when they first met. They'd only become friends once Elphaba had gotten her into Madame Morrible's sorcery seminar. Pulling open her book on the History of Munchkinland, she stared at the words until they coagulated into a blurry mess.

**x x x**

Elphaba ran off as soon as Doctor Dillamond's class ended. Fiyero had been eyeing her the whole class and had headed towards her as soon as the bell rang, but Elphaba had anticipated it and had sat at the back of the class so that it would be easy for her to dash away as soon as it was over. She was outside her English class when she saw that an exhausted Fiyero was still chasing after her. She ducked into the classroom and shut the door, sticking her tongue out at him from the little square glass in the door. Peering cautiously inside and making sure the teacher wasn't there, Fiyero stalked inside, getting quizzical looks from the few other students who had come early. Elphaba was alarmed as he stood in front of her desk, looking down at her.

"Why are you avoiding me?"

"I don't know... maybe it's because you have a giant black hole where your brain should be?" She said, icily, pulling her books out of her bag.

"I don't know what that means." Fiyero said, sitting down on her desk, "But it doesn't sound like a compliment."

"Oh I see, you're only supposed to get compliments, are you?" Elphaba's voice dripped thickly with sarcasm, "All hail Prince Douchebag."

"What did I say to make you so mad at me?" Fiyero sounded genuinely confused, which irritated Elphaba even more.

"Look Fiyero, maybe normal people _like _being called 'squashed cabbage leaves' but I don't really fancy it."

"Oh come on, I was angry."

"Because I didn't want to do your homework for you. _And_ you told me that you were only being nice to me because you thought I would do it for you."

"Hey!" Fiyero was starting to get angry, "I didn't say anything like that. I just asked you to..."

"Well, I don't care. I'm not doing the essay for you. But hey, if you fail you can always use the air in your empty head to blow up balloons and then sell them at the fair."

"Yeah well, maybe you can join me and rub the balloons on your face to make them turn green."

"That is the lamest comeback I have ever heard."

"Well..."

They were in each other's faces now, their eyes narrowed, their teeth gritted.

"Excuse me?" A smooth voice cut in. Fiyero and Elphaba turned quizzically to look at the boy standing next to them. He was just a little shorter than Fiyero, with straight brown hair that fell into his deep green eyes. He was wearing a dark blue shirt with his sleeves rolled up to display an impressive set of toned biceps, and tight black jeans. Running his fingers through his hair, he stepped in front of Fiyero.

"I request you to please leave the lady alone."

Fiyero scowled at the boy, but got off the desk immediately and stormed out of the classroom. Elphaba smiled at the boy. She knew she could have handled Fiyero herself, but she was thankful for the help. Plus no one had ever called her a 'lady' before.

The boy slid into the empty seat next to her, "That, I presume, was the Winkie Prince?"

"Yeah." Elphaba said, rolling her eyes.

"I've heard he's a brat." The boy shot Elphaba a stunning smile.

"And lucky you! You've witnessed him demonstrating just that." Elphaba opened her copy of _Fool on the Hill _again.

"You're reading _Fool!" _The boy said, excitedly, "Have you gotten to the plot twist yet?"

"Yeah." Elphaba said, looking at the boy with a new-found appreciation, "I thought that was so clever!"

"I know, right?" The boy had turned towards her, sitting so that he could face her. She tried to remember who he was, she didn't usually pay much attention to the students at Shiz.

"I'm sorry." She said, a little hesitantly, "I don't know your name."

"Nises." The boy said, grinning, "I came a few days ago. At the same time as our empty-headed prince, actually. But who notices a new nobody when there's a 'roguish prince' to pay attention to, huh?"

He hadn't said a word about her skin at all. _Why is he talking to me? _Elphaba wondered. _I hope he's not about to play some prank on me. I don't think I could deal with any more shit today. _

Nises was leaning closer to her now,"I saw you in the library yesterday reading about animals, and I made it my mission to come and talk to you. I've noticed the way people treat animals here and it absolutely disgusts me. Don't you think it's disgraceful?"

Elphaba smiled. Maybe this day wouldn't be so horrid after all.


	2. Chapter 2

**So here's the second chapter. You guys are lucky, I had enough time to write it this week ;) I might be a little busier in the future, so it might take a little longer for the next chapter to be up, but we'll see. **

**Thank you so much for your reviews :) They really made me really, really happy. **

** Hope you like this chapter as well... and also, I apologize for my odd sense of humour **

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**Chapter 2**

Fiyero didn't like that other new boy.

He didn't like the way he walked around acting like he was the smartest person under the sun. He didn't like the way he acted like he was so much older than he actually was. He didn't like the way he dressed 'like a gentleman'; Galinda had taken one look at the new boy and then chided _him_, "Look how Nises dresses. He looks so... dapper."

"I dress up too." Fiyero had said, stubbornly.

"Only when you go to parties. Otherwise you look like you just rolled out of bed. You'd better start dressing nicer soon, Fifi, or I'll have to give you a makeover."

Fiyero hated being called Fifi... and he hated makeovers, but he hated Nises more.

He especially hated how much time Elphaba was spending with him. He didn't know what she saw in that boy. They'd walk around together and she'd always be laughing, or deep in some kind of discussion - her brow furrowed and her lips pursed. She always made that face when she was thinking hard. Fiyero found it extremely cute, but not when it was directed at Nises. Though, to be honest, he couldn't remember the last time Elphaba had thought too deeply about anything he had ever said. Admittedly, he knew why - he always gave off this impression that he was totally brainless, when he wasn't. He just didn't like _thinking_ most of the time... but that didn't mean he was stupid_. _Fiyero didn't know why the fact that Elphaba and that boy were friends bothered him so much. It's not like... Fiyero liked her or anything. Was it even possible to like Elphaba Thropp in a romantic way? He obviously didn't like her, it was just that he didn't like them spending time together because he didn't like Nises. That idiotic boy was always showing off and constantly acting like he was so much smarter than Fiyero. Like, who did he think he was? The apple that hit Einstein on the head? No, that boy clearly was a menace and Fiyero certainly didn't want him rubbing off on Elphaba.

Fiyero slumped into Doctor Dillamond's class after seeing Elphaba excitedly wave goodbye to Nises at the doorway. _Ugh. _He hovered by the chairs, not committing to a place, waiting till Elphaba walked into the room. She finally did, purposefully avoiding Fiyero's gaze. She looked... different. Her normally braided hair was open, and there was a large pink flower in it. Her clothes looked tighter too, and she seemed preoccupied with the way her hair moved. She looked so... uncomfortable. _Is she dressing up for this Nises guy? _Fiyero got a sick feeling at the pit of his stomach. _I don't believe this... _

Elphaba sat down on a bench, and Fiyero jumped to fill the empty seat beside her. Elphaba shot him a dirty look.

"What? I thought you'd forgiven me! I've apologized so many times!" He yelped, his voice reaching a pitch much higher than it normally did. He coughed, hoping that would bring it back to normal.

"Fine. Whatever." she said, dismissively. She began pulling the books out of her bag and placing them in a neat pile on the table in front of her.

"So, we're friends again, right?"

"I guess so," she said, still avoiding his gaze.

"So... " Fiyero looked at her innocently, "Are you and Nises dating now?"

Elphaba spun around so fast, the flower flew out of her hair. Fiyero bent down to pick it up as she spluttered, "_What?_"

"What? I was just asking."

"And _how _is that any of your business?"

"I'm just making small talk." Fiyero said, shrugging. He picked up the novel she had lying on her desk. "You know, I read a book once..."

"Oh Oz," Elphaba rolled her eyes, "How commendable."

"It was about half the size of this."

"I don't think 'Goodnight Moon' really counts as a book."

Fiyero frowned, "It was an actual book, you know. There were no pictures or anything."

"That's fascinating, Fiyero," she grabbed the book back from him.

He handed the flower back to her and watched as she struggled to make it stay in her long, black hair.

"What?" She snapped when she noticed him staring.

"Oh nothing, it's just... you've been Galindafied." He stared sincerely into her chocolate brown eyes, "You don't have to do that, you know?"

Elphaba's mouth opened and Fiyero wasn't sure if she was about to say something or whether he had finally managed to strike her speechless, because at that moment Doctor Dillamond came in, looking more melancholic than he'd ever looked... which was saying something.

** x x x**

They both paused for breath at the edge of the campus, gasping and clutching their knees. The lion cub in the cage between them roared and pawed at the metal bars that imprisoned him.

"What the _hell?" _Fiyero said, staring at the lion cub, "What just happened?"

"You just did something nice, for a change." Elphaba said, wiping the sweat off her brow.

Fiyero straightened himself out, looking at her with... _was that pain?_... in his eyes, "You think I'm some sort of wicked person, don't you?"

"I think you have the potential to be." Elphaba said, shrugging.

"Well, I'm wounded." Fiyero said, looking away from her.

"Now, come on Fiyero. Think about it... if some super hot chick came up to you and told you to make out with her in the forest behind your girlfriend's back, don't tell me you wouldn't do it."

"I wouldn't do it."

"Not even if she had the biggest breasts in all of Oz?" Elphaba giggled, pulling out a rubber band to tie up her hair. Looking up, she started... Fiyero was suddenly right in front her - so close she could feel his warm breath on her cheek. His azure eyes bore into hers and she felt her breathing become more ragged. She wasn't used to having people stand so close to her, particularly not boys. And why did _this _one have to be so damn attractive?

"Not unless she was the one, no I wouldn't."

Elphaba felt her stomach flip like a pancake.

"Wow Fiyero," she joked, "I never pegged you for a romantic. Where did all this 'The One' stuff come from?"

He didn't answer her, but she felt his eyes burning into hers with an intensity she didn't know he had in him. She looked away, quickly.

"Oh, the poor thing." She bent down next to the lion cub and stroked its fur through the bars of the cage, "It's terrified."

"We should let it free."

"Yes, but not here. We should take him into the forest."

Fiyero scowled, "Obviously I knew that. You think I'm really stupid, don't you?"

"Sort of."

"Well_ fine _if you want to do it by yourself..." Fiyero turned around and pretended to walk away.

"I was joking... Fiyero!" On an instinct, she grabbed his hand and Fiyero suddenly felt a surge of electricity shoot up through it. He couldn't tell if she felt it too, but she dropped it like it had burnt her.

"I need your help." she admitted, looking down at her dirty, black boots. He guessed Galinda's shoes were too small for her.

"Alright, fine." he sighed, picking up the cage. "I'll go let the cub free in the forest."

"Obviously I'm coming with you."

"No, you're not. I have a free period but _you_ have class right now."

"Oh yes!" Elphaba looked down at her watch, "I can't wait to tell Nises about this!" She turned to Fiyero and flashed him a smile, "Thank you so much Fiyero. I owe you one." Her voice was so sincere it almost hurt. _She cares so much, _Fiyero thought, watching her run towards her English class, _she's so completely selfless_. _I wonder what that's like... standing for something that's more than just yourself. _He tried to ignore the way his heart was hammering a little painfully in his chest.

Soon it was just him alone with the lion cub.

"I freaking hate that Nises." he muttered to the animal.

** x x x**

The dining hall was buzzing loudly by the time Nises and Elphaba found Galinda's table.

"Nises!" Galinda shrieked, excitedly, bouncing up and down in her seat. She patted the chair next to her, "Come sit next to me!"

Galinda really liked Nises, which made Elphaba really happy. She and Nises had gotten along so well, she was a little afraid that Galinda and him wouldn't have anything in common at all. Yet, she supposed, if she could get along with Galinda's dim-bulb boyfriend, certainly Galinda could get along with her... what was he? Elphaba couldn't deny there was some sort of attraction between them. They could _actually_ converse, Nises and her. One night they had sat outside the library and had talked until it was so dark, Elphaba could barely see her way home. But she loved it. It was something she had missed her whole life - just being able to talk to someone for hours on end. Nises was well-read and articulate and cared about social issues, and not just the ones involving animals. He was outspoken and eloquent... and he was good-looking as well. Sure, he wasn't as good-looking as Fiyero, but that hardly mattered. Looks weren't high up on Elphaba's list for 'traits that appear in a perfect male'. Though she had to admit, Fiyero had been acting... different lately. Since the library incident, she'd gone back to her impression of him as nothing more than a one-dimensional spoiled, rich boy... but he was starting to make her wonder if that really was the case. He'd been so... enigmatic... lately. Elphaba shook her head as she sat down across from Galinda. Enigmatic was never a word she thought she'd apply to Fiyero.

"I'm just going to get my lunch." Nises said, dumping his bag on the chair beside Galinda, "I'll be right back."

"He dresses _so _well." Galinda said, looking appreciatively at Nises' back as he walked away.

"Yeah." Elphaba agreed. She picked up a carrot and began chewing on it, thoughtfully.

"Soooo... How's it going with the two of you?" Galinda asked, her eyes lighting up mischievously.

This was another thing Elphaba never thought she'd find herself doing - talking about her dating life with Galinda.

"It's going... I don't even know. I mean, we have _so _much in common. He reads, he's articulate, he knows about current events..."

Galinda scrunched up her nose, "_Sheesh. _You make having a crush sound so boring."

"What do you mean?"

"When you like a boy you need to _feel _it. You're being too... what's the word... for when your brain thinks something makes sense?"

"Rational?"

"Yes!" Galinda smiled as though she had just won a nobel prize, "You're being too rational. When you like a boy it shouldn't just make sense, it should feel... happy_. _You should feel bouncy when he talks to you. When he smiles, you should feel like... like there's a frog in your stomach."

Elphaba screwed up her nose at Galinda's descriptions, but remained silent. Galinda's blissful, blonde brain had actually made some kind of sense. Even though things had been going really well with Nises friendship-wise, he hadn't actually made any attempt to flirt with her... he hadn't even hinted at the possibility of them maybe going out. Was it because she just didn't get him excited enough? Elphaba chewed on her bottom lip. She had no idea what to do. She didn't think she could stand another one of Galinda's makeovers again - The morning before she and Fiyero had set the lion cub free, Galinda had insisted Elphaba get a makeover. Elphaba had (of course) protested vociferously, but Galinda had insisted, "Don't you want to look nice for Nises?"

"No, I want to be comfortable." Elphaba had snapped back. But Galinda had pleaded and pouted till she had finally (reluctantly) agreed. But Elphaba hadn't done it for Nises, or anyone for that matter, so she wasn't paying much attention to whether or not he had liked it. _Well whatever it is, _Elphaba thought sadly, _It's not like I can ever make myself beautiful. _So looks were out of the question. She didn't think that Nises was that shallow anyway. He had never talked about her skin at all... surely it was easy for him to look past it? Maybe all Elphaba needed to do was to show him she could could be fun... that she could be exciting.

"A party!" A deep voice exclaimed from beside her.

"A PARTY?" Galinda shrieked, "When?"

Elphaba turned to look at Fiyero, who had sat down on the seat next to her, and then immediately looked away. Was she crazy? Was it possible that he had gotten more attractive overnight? She peeked at him from the corner of her eyes. He had actually put effort into dressing up this morning, she noticed, a little appreciatively. His hair wasn't falling all over the place like it usually did (though she had to admit, his unruly hair gave him a sort of boyish charm that made her stomach flutter) and he smelled like cologne instead of coffee. But the most striking thing was that Fiyero... _Fiyero..._ was wearing a white shirt, tucked into dark blue jeans and a loose red tie. Elphaba tried to avert her eyes from the top three buttons of Fiyero's shirt which were undone, revealing a glimpse of his chest below.

"Two weeks from now." Fiyero was grinning widely, still looking directly at Galinda, "We going?"

"YES of course, we're going!" Galinda's voice was so high-pitched, if it got any higher, only dogs would be able to hear her.

"And you?" He finally turned to look at Elphaba, his deep blues questioning.

"Huh?"

A small smile broke out on Fiyero's face before he repeated, "Party. Two weeks. You coming?"

"A party?" Nises put his tray down on the table and smiled at Fiyero, "Hello."

Fiyero's smile suddenly dropped.

"Oh hi. Yes, there's going to be a party... at the uh.. Starlight Ballroom. Two weeks from now. You should come." Fiyero forced out, before turning to look at his sandwich.

"I love parties." Nises said, sitting down next to Galinda, "It's the only way I can loosen up."

"We should go then." Elphaba said, shooting Nises a smile. _Maybe that's what we need. A fun night together. _

"Oh. So, you guys are going... together. Yeah, that's cool. I mean. You can bring dates or whatever." Fiyero fumbled, before shoving his sandwich into his mouth.

"So, you're a big party person then, Fiyero?" Nises asked, turning to the Winkie prince, whose cheeks were swollen from the large bite he had just taken.

Fiyero swallowed hurriedly, "Yeah I mean, I enjoy them.. once in a while. But it's not like I go gallanting around all the time."

Nises snicked, and Fiyero gave him a blank look.

"I think you mean 'galavanting', champ."

Fiyero scowled at him. _Champ? _

"Gallant would be used to describe a gentleman who is very chivalrous. But after the way you spoke to Miss. Elphaba the day I first met you, I don't think that word could be used to describe you."

"_Miss. Elphaba," _Fiyero repeated in a mocking tone of voice, "Was being annoying that day."

Elphaba rolled her eyes, but kept silent. She didn't want to get involved in Nises and Fiyero's stupid, nonsensical argument.

"Elphaba didn't want to do your homework for you."

"_Elphaba_ can stand up for herself."

The two fell silent then, glaring at each other as they continued eating their meals.

Galinda looked a little put-off.

"Well," she said, sending the two boys an uncertain look and then turning to Elphaba, "So what have you been up to?"

"Nises and I have actually been organizing a protest against the school. For firing Doctor Dillamond." Elphaba's eyes glittered with enthusiasm.

"Yes," Nises agreed, his eyes not leaving Fiyero's, "Do you know what a protest is, Fiyero?"

"Yes." Fiyero spat, "Do you know how to not use a whole bottle of gel on your head, Nises?"

"I happen to like looking neat."

"I happen to not like listening to you speak."

"Why? Does it make you feel dumb?"

Fiyero's face was red with anger. Elphaba could see him struggling for words until he came out with a weak, "You're dumb."

"Well that just proves it then." Nises said, a smug expression on his face.

"That still doesn't explain why you want to look like you've constantly been out in the rain." Fiyero shot back.

Elphaba groaned. Why were they doing this?

"Oh, why don't you just go jump in a volcano."

"Why don't you?"

"That retort is older than the Ruby Palace_." _Nises sneered.

"Actually," Fiyero said, matter-of-factly, his eyes still narrowed, "The Ruby Palace is only ten years old. It was originally called the Diamond Castle, when it was built in 1754. The name was changed and it was rebuilt with rubies when Prince Caprisio came into power, because his birthstone was the ruby."

The table fell silent. Now it was Fiyero's turn to look smug.

"Who's dumb _now?" _He whispered to Nises before grabbing his tray and getting up from the table. Elphaba gawked at him as he walked away, and then turned to look at Galinda, who was looking just as stunned as she was.


	3. Chapter 3

**Here's chapter 3 guys! I'm sorry, it's quite a bit shorter than the others... It was going to be much longer, but I moved a lot of what was supposed to happen in this chapter to chapter 4. **

**I wanted to upload something today because your reviews were so sweet, I just couldn't resist. **

**Hope you like it... **

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**Chapter 3**

"Ok, I can't do this anymore." Fiyero said, slamming his book shut.

They were studying together in Elphaba's room. Galinda, who was supposed to be there with them, had dashed away five minutes after they had started to 'help a fellow student with a fashion emergency'.

"Do what, Fiyero?" Elphaba asked, bored. She hated studying with him, he was always whining about something or the other every ten minutes.

"I just can't."

"Can't what?" Elphaba snapped angrily.

When he didn't reply, she looked up suspiciously from her book. Fiyero was just sitting at Galinda's desk, staring off into space.

"Fiyero?"

The boy remained silent. Confused, and a little worried, Elphaba got up off her bed and walked over to where he was sitting.

"What is it..."

Fiyero stood up suddenly, "I can't keep pretending anymore."

_Huh? _"Pretending?"

Fiyero was staring at her, the same way he had when he said that thing about 'the one'. Elphaba felt her skin start to tingle.

"Fiyero, what's the matter with you? You're freaking me out."

Fiyero stayed quiet, but began walking towards her, his eyes fixed on hers. She backed up against a wall, but Fiyero didn't stop walking. Soon, he was pressing her against the wall. He leaned in closer to her, his hands sliding down her body to land on her waist.

"I can't keep pretending that I don't need you, Elphaba Thropp."

Elphaba tried to say something, but all she could do was let out the breath she didn't know she'd been holding. She couldn't pull away from his gaze, it was as though his eyes were magnets.

He was standing _so close. _

"I can't live without you." His voice was a whisper now.

Her breathing all but stopped. She could feel his lips coming closer and closer to hers...

Elphaba woke up in a cold sweat, her heart thumping hard in her chest.

_No._

_That did not just happen._

_No. _

She did _not _just have a dream in which she was about to kiss Fiyero Tiggular.

_No no no. _

Fiyero out of all people! She expected to feel disgust at the memory, but all she found herself feeling was exhilaration and a mild sense of... disappointment. If only she could have finished the dream...

_No! Stop thinking like that! _She scolded herself, _How could I even have a dream like that? Ok yes, it was in my subconscious, but still! Fiyero Tiggular is not someone you want to kiss! Fiyero Tiggular is an idiotic, snobby, rich boy. _

Sure, he'd been... confusing her... what with all his 'The One' stuff and his dressing up in ties and the whole... being smart and sweet, nonsense. But deep down, he was still Fiyero Tiggular - playboy party prince. The boy who'd called her a squashed cabbage leaf.

"Elphie?" Galinda, asked sleepily. "Is everything ok?"

_Oh my god. Galinda. _

"Yeah, it's all fine." Elphaba said, a little frightfully. She was afraid to say anything else, on the off-chance that by talking to her, Galinda would telepathically be able to see what Elphaba had just been dreaming about.

_I just had a dream that my roommate's boyfriend was about to kiss me. And I was ENJOYING it. What is the matter with me? _

Lying back in bed, she willed her heart to stop beating so fast.

_It's just a dream, it's JUST a dream. _

She couldn't stop fragments of the dream from reappearing in her mind. It had seemed so real - the crinkles near his eyes, the smell of his hair...

_NO STOP_

Not only was Elphaba _not _interested in Fiyero, but Fiyero was dating her best (and only) friend who - according to Galinda, at least - was going to marry him. Not to mention, Elphaba had Nises... sort of.

Elphaba felt a wave of guilt wash over her. Galinda had been so sweet to her - _despite_ the fact that she was weird and looked like a broccoli - and _this_ was how Elphaba repaid her? By fantasizing about kissing her boyfriend?

_It's just a dream _she told herself, pushing the thought of Galinda and Fiyero out of her mind. She settled back under the covers.

_It's just a dream. _

In spite of knowing this, she still couldn't fall back asleep.

** x x x**

"You're _what?" _

"I'm really sorry Nessa, but I can't be with you anymore." Boq was wringing his hands nervously. The girl in the wheelchair glowered at him, making him feel even smaller than he actually was.

"You can't break up with me!" Her loud voice echoed off the walls of Boq's small room. Her expression looked panicked, manic even. "We deserve each other!"

"I'm sorry." He couldn't say anything more.

He didn't want to hurt Nessa, but he just couldn't stay with her any longer. There was no way he could go on acting like he liked her.

"Things were going so well between us, Boq! What happened? Did I... do something wrong?" Nessa's angry expression melted away, and her eyes started to fill with tears.

This was what Boq had been afraid of.

"No! Nessa, not at all. It's just... I haven't been... completely honest with you."

Nessa remained silent and Boq took a deep breath, "I... have feelings for someone else."

"_What?" _

"I've liked this girl from the day and I met her, and... going out with you was... wrong."

"Who is it?"

Boq couldn't help himself, "Galinda."

"Galinda? But... she's with Fiyero."

"I know, but I love her, and... I just can't stay with you. I have to go tell her how I feel. I'm really sorry, Nessa."

Boq ran out of the room just in time for Nessa to burst into tears.

_This is not fair! _Nessa thought, her head in her hands, her tears leaving wet stains across her skirt, _Why do all these things have to happen to ME? _

Looking up, she caught sight of herself in the mirror. She narrowed her puffy, red eyes.

It wasn't fair and she certainly didn't deserve it.

Which is why she couldn't just sit there and cry about it.

She was not going to let Galinda get away with it.

_I'm going to make her pay, _she thought savagely, wiping away her tears with her sleeve. _I'm going to make her feel as crushed and hopeless as I do now. _

_And there is only one way to do that._

* * *

**I just wanted to thank you guys so much for reading my silly little story :) Hopefully, the next chapter will be up before Monday. As always, feel free to review - good or bad. **


	4. Chapter 4

**Here's Chapter 4! **

**I just wanted to thank Elphaba'sGirl, Ultimate Queen of Cliffies, ExoticPeachBlossom, theHAPPYobsessedwickedfan3611 and FallenJustice for your reviews. You guys are the absolute coolest. I don't know if people dedicate chapters to people? But even if they don't, I'd like to dedicate this to all of you... actually no. This is kind of a serious chapter. I'm dedicating the next chapter to all of you. **

* * *

**Chapter 4**

"Fiyero, what is the matter with you?"

"Huh?"

Fiyero looked up at Galinda, who was sitting across the room from him, applying pink nail polish to her toenails. Her face was crinkled in a disapproving manner.

"You're so... moodified."

"Oh yeah... I'm just... thinking."

"_Thinking?_"

"Uh, yeah."

"About what?"

"Politics." Fiyero lied.

Galinda didn't seem to be buying it.

"Politics?" she asked, skeptically, "What politics?"

"Of this school. I uh... think it sucks that teachers get to tell students what to do. Like, who do they think they are?"

"They're _teachers_." Galinda finished, sending him an odd look, "Fiyero, you're a terrible liar. What is going on with you?"

Fiyero shrugged, unsure of what to tell her. What could he tell her? The truth? As if.

There was no way he could tell her what he was actually thinking about. And there was _definitely_ no way he could he tell her that what he was thinking about, was all he had been able to think about for the past few weeks... probably even more than that.

But he had to.

That morning had proven it... Fiyero couldn't be with Galinda anymore.

It had taken place just after he had woken up. He was walking down one of the school hallways to his first class, when he'd spotted a flash of green.

And it had perked him up more an a cup of coffee was ever able to.

He'd chased her down, but as soon as she'd seen him approaching, she just dropped her gaze and hurriedly walked away from him.

That was all it took.

Fiyero had spent the next three hours obsessing over why she did that, and what it could mean, and what had he done for her to be angry with him?

That's when it hit him.

Nises was right, he was stupid.

He was a stupid,_ stupid_ idiot for not being able to see it, even though it had been right there, in front of his _stupid_ face, possibly from the moment he'd arrived at Shiz.

And it scared him. It scared him more than he could possibly comprehend.

But he knew what it meant. Even if Fiyero couldn't get what he wanted, there was something he had to do.

He had to break up with Galinda.

He cared about her, a lot. Which is why he knew he couldn't lead her on anymore.

"... and then you said that thing about the palace, and I was so confused, like... where did you get that from? Have you been _studying_? Because you never study with me... and I was a little hurt..."

Fiyero realized with a start that Galinda had been talking the whole time he had been thinking. Cutting her off, he said in a low voice, "Lin... there's... actually something I wanted to talk to you about."

Galinda seemed to deflate, but she remained silent.

He could feel his heart growing tighter in his chest. "I... we... can't be together anymore."

"What?" she said it so softly, Fiyero couldn't initially tell if it was a word or just a loud exhale.

"I'm really sorry, Lin."

"Don't you... don't you like me anymore?" Her voice was suddenly very small.

"I do like you. A lot. I really care about you. It's just... I... don't like you in _that _way." His words sounded so juvenile considering what it was that he was trying to tell her, "There's... someone else."

"_Someone else?" _Galinda's tiny voice transformed into a roar,"You cheated on me!?"

"Yes... I mean, no... I didn't cheat on you. Well, not physically anyway."

"Fiyero what the hell are you talking about? Did you or did you not cheat on me?"

"I didn't cheat on you in the sense that I haven't done anything with another girl. I cheated on you in the sense that... I... fell in love... with another girl." He said the words slowly, alarmed by how honest he was being.

"You _what?_" Galinda was spluttering, disbelieving, "Fiyero, you are not old - or mature - enough to be in _love." _

Except that he was. And he knew he was. That's what scared him. He was so much in love that even the thought of just dating her wasn't enough. He wanted to be with her forever.

Till his hair turned white and fell out.

Till his face was sagging and covered in liver spots, he wanted Elphaba Thropp beside him holding his wrinkled hand in her own, wrinkled, green one. He wanted her forever by his side to correct his dumb mistakes and tease him and laugh at his jokes and smile at him with that gorgeous smile of hers. The thought of that coming true made him happier than he ever could have imagined.

"Who is it?" Galinda asked softly. She tried to sound curious, but her tone of voice told Fiyero that she already knew the answer.

"Does it even matter?" Fiyero asked, hastily turning away.

"Fiyero, if you care about me - even a little - you will tell me this instant. Who is this girl?"

Fiyero's mouth opened and closed noiselessly. Could he really tell her? Wouldn't that create some sort of... rift between them, or something?

"I don't think it's..."

"It's Elphaba, isn't it?"

Fiyero fell silent. Staring at his shoes, he nodded reluctantly.

"You are... in love... with my roommate."

"I..." Fiyero really had no idea what to say. He had never been the most articulate of people, and being confronted by a teary, angry girl really didn't make things any better.

"You are _in love _with my roommate and best friend." Galinda repeated, almost mechanically.

"Look Lin..."

"It's always been her, hasn't it?" There was a deep sadness in her voice. Fiyero knew there was nothing he could say to make her believe otherwise. Not like there was any 'otherwise' to believe in, in any case.

"Lin, I care about you, I do..."

"Don't call me that, Fiyero!" Galinda turned away, her eyes brimming with tears, "Just leave, ok?"

"Galinda..." Fiyero's heart was breaking. He walked over to her and tried to hold her, but she pushed him away.

"I said LEAVE."

Her sobs began racking her body, making her small frame shake.

"Galinda..."

"Please."

He couldn't argue with that. Picking up his things, he sent her another sorrowful look and then turned to leave.

"Sorry," he whispered as he shut the door quietly behind him.

**x x x**

Elphaba didn't expect Madame Morrible to approve, but she guessed that telling her about the protest before it happened would be better than giving her a cruel surprise. She and Nises were protesting against the school, after all, and Elphaba wanted to make sure she had at least one teacher on her side if she needed it. She spent two one-on-one sessions a week with Madame Morrible (It had been four times a week before Galinda had been accepted into the seminar), and they had grown quite close. Surely, even if she didn't agree with what Elphaba was doing, she would still not condemn her for acting on her beliefs? Elphaba had discussed the issue with Nises and he'd agreed it was the best thing to do. After all, Doctor Dillamond was Madame Morrible's colleague, maybe a part of her would even appreciate what they were doing. Elphaba secretly hoped for her support, even in setting up the protest, but her teacher had never seemed too keen on helping the Animals, so she tried not to keep her hopes up.

Walking down the hallway, engrossed in her thoughts, Elphaba heard a shout. Looking up, she spotted Fiyero coming towards her. She felt panic begin to rise up in her chest. So, maybe the remnant feelings from her dream hadn't completely disappeared the morning after. Looking at him, in the flesh, after her dream made her feel a little giddy. Which is why she really couldn't deal with being anywhere near him. Not until that odd feeling her dream had given her had vanished entirely.

Ducking her head, she tried to make herself inconspicuous in the crowd... well, as far as she could, being green and all. When that didn't work, she quickened her pace, finally managing to get out of the crowded hallway and into the more deserted one which housed Madame Morrible's office.

_Phew. Disaster averted. _

Straightening herself up, and mentally going over what she wanted to say, Elphaba walked over to Madame Morrible's office door and was about to knock on it, when she heard voices. One was definitely Madame Morrible's, but the other voice sounded unfamiliar. It was the loud booming voice of a man. Elphaba couldn't remember a teacher in their school who talked like that, but she couldn't really be sure. After all, everything they were saying was indistinct. Everything, except two words that stuck out clearly - The Wizard.

She put her ear to the door, realizing, as she did so, that she was being foolish. What did she expect to hear?

"... and that he's expecting you next month."

"Oh wonderful. The student will be ready by then. I think she's what he's looking for. Her powers are quite extraordinary."

Elphaba found herself grinning with pride. Madame Morrible was going to take her to see the Wizard! Finally! She felt the excitement begin to bubble up inside her.

"Yes, you've mentioned."

"... the... and... the wizard. Do... did?"

Madame Morrible's voice was getting quieter. Elphaba strained to hear against the thick, wooden door.

"Don't worry, he's taken care of the goat," The man said. There was a hint of amusement in his voice, "He can barely stand, forget talk."

Elphaba's gut instantly clenched. All her excitement ebbed away just as fast as it had come.

_They couldn't be talking about... _

"Bah. Doctor Dillamond was always so dispiriting. Always harping on the past and how he wished Animals could teach in the school again. I can't say I'm not relieved to hear that the Wizard has shut him up once and for all."

"I never liked those Animals in general. The Wizard's cage is a stroke of genius, if you ask me. Those things needed to be silenced."

"I agree."

Elphaba backed away from the door, her heart suddenly growing cold.

_No _

Terrified, she turned to run, but found that her legs could not move.

_Why did I have to eavesdrop?! Stupid, stupid! _

She would have been much better off not knowing that the _Wizard _of all people, was against the Animals! That the Wizard - the man she had been dreaming would save the Animals and make her his apprentice - had silenced Doctor Dillamond - the first person in Shiz who had been kind to her - for good. Not to mention that the other teacher she had been close to at Shiz had been somehow been involved in all of this.

_I'm such a commotion._ She thought miserably. _Why am I always finding myself in such situations? _

But she had, and now that she had, she knew she had to do something.

Anything.

Even if it meant becoming the enemy of the greatest man in Oz.

**x x x**

Elphaba sat in her library booth, her eyes staring unseeingly at the page of the open book before her, as her mind whirred.

She had finally come up with a plan to expose the Wizard.

It wasn't a completely fool-proof plan, and no matter how many times Elphaba told herself it was the right thing to do, she was terrified. Which is why she needed to know that someone... anyone... was on her side.

"I'm here!"

Elphaba broke out of her thoughts as Nises walked into the room. She forced a smile in an attempt to mask her stricken expression.

"Hey!"

He slid into the seat across from her, "How are things going? Did you talk to Madame Morrible?"

"No, I didn't."

"I thought you were going to do it this morning?"

"I was... but then something came up."

Nises furrowed his brow, "What happened?"

Elphaba took a deep breath, "Alright. Don't ask me how, but I happened to overhear a conversation Madame Morrible was having with another man."

Nises looked puzzled, but remained silent.

"Apparently, The Wizard is the one that got Doctor Dillamond fired."

"_What? _But... that doesn't make any sense. Why would the Wizard want Doctor Dillamond fired?"

"Not only that, but apparently, he's the one that invented the cage... because for some reason, he wants the Animals to be silenced."

Nises was staring at her with wide eyes, his mouth hanging slightly open. "No..." he said, his voice barely louder than a whisper.

"It's true," Elphaba was shaking slightly, "I heard it myself. And I don't know how or why, but Madame Morrible has something to do with all of it."

The two of them fell into a deep silence. The sound of the library clock ticking filled the small study room.

"So that's why I was thinking." Elphaba began in a rush, "We break into Madame Morrible's office and look around for evidence, and if we find some, we reveal it to everyone at that party that Fiyero was telling us about."

"Elphaba..."

"I mean, I know it's just a week from now, but if we sneak into Madame Morrible's office in the next few days, then we're all set! And Galinda mentioned that the press is going to be there... at the party, that is...I think the girl hosting it is a princess or something. Whatever it is..."

"Elphaba." Nises repeated, louder. The tenseness in his voice cut her off. "You can't be serious."

"What do you mean?" Elphaba's voice wavered slightly.

"You can't actually expect us to go through with the protest..."

"Why not?"

Nises gave her a bewildered look, "You want us, to go against _the Wizard? _Have you lost your mind? He's the most powerful man in all of Oz! Say one thing against him and he's going to send men after us to get us killed!"

"Do you think the thought never crossed my mind? Of course he isn't going to be happy about this! But we set out to do something, and we have to do it right. I can't... I can't just accept what they have done to Doctor Dillamond."

"No one's asking you to accept it, Elphaba." Nises hissed, "But this is something you have to ignore."

"That's what I'm trying to tell you, I _can't_ ignore it." Elphaba's voice was getting firmer, angrier, "Doctor Dillamond... all the Animals, don't they have rights? Imagine if someone took away your voice, Nises. Would you want the people who still had theirs, to remain silent?"

"He will come after us _and kill us_. Please, Elphaba, try to understand!"

"I do!" she said, resolutely, "I understand that I heard that conversation for a reason. It's up to me to help the animals."

"Well, I can't help you then. I'm sorry. You're on your own."

"Nises..."

They were interrupted by loud, thumping footsteps. Fiyero burst into the room, flushed and grinning. He looked like he was about to proclaim something when the look on Elphaba's face made his excited expression transform into one of concern.

"Oh my Oz, Elphaba! What's wrong?"

Elphaba just shook her head, miserably.

"Fiyero." Nises said, icily.

Noticing Nises for the first time, Fiyero's face became stiff.

"Nises." he acknowledged, curtly.

"What are you doing in the library, you lost?" Nises's voice was thick with disdain.

"I smelled something bad coming from here, so I followed it and it led me to you."

"I'd have thought the intelligence emanating from this place would act as a forcefield against people like you."

"I'd have thought stores wouldn't sell pants that tight. Where did you get yours? Stole them from a Munchkin?"

"Oh, you're the one to talk." Nises spat.

"This really isn't the time." Elphaba cut in irritably, "I don't know why you two hate each other so much, but I'd appreciate it if you could squabble somewhere else."

"I was just leaving, anyway." Nises said, slipping out of the booth. He shot Fiyero another dirty look before exiting the room.

Fiyero sat down in Nises's vacant spot. He looked Elphaba straight in her dark, brown eyes.

"Tell me what's wrong."

"I don't think..."

"It's not a request."

Elphaba sighed. For a second she considered not saying anything, but she finally conceded, "Fine..."

She told him everything. From eavesdropping in on Madame Morrible's conversation, to her plan, right down to Nises's surprising reaction.

"And now I don't know what to do." Her eyes were glistening with tears, "But he's right. It's unfair of me to put him in danger for something that I believe in. I mean, he hardly knew Doctor Dillamond, how can I expect him to take such a big risk and fight in his memory? I'm going to do it alone."

"No you're not."

Elphaba froze.

"I'm not?" she asked, slowly.

Fiyero's eyes held a look of unarguable determination.

"I'm going to help you."

* * *

**I was just wondering, do you guys imagine a particular Fiyero and Elphaba when reading these? It's so strange to me.. I mean, if this were a Merlin or a Sherlock or any other TV show fic you would be picturing the same person I was picturing... but with Wicked, you could be picturing a completely different pair of people. **

**I'm rambling. I'll shut up now. **

**I'll try and get the next chapter up as soon as I can :) **


	5. Chapter 5

**Well here it is, Chapter 5. I want to dedicate this to all of you wonderful people who have been reviewing this story from the beginning. You guys seriously ****kept me excited about this story. I'm dedicating this chapter to all of you because this wasn't initially in the story when I had first planned it... but now it's the longest chapter I have so far XD Anyway, I hope you like it :) And thank you all again for reviewing... you guys really are the best. **

* * *

**Chapter 5 **

Fiyero gave his boots another regretful look. So, he might have gone a bit overboard with the whole 'breaking into Madame Morrible's office' thing. He was dressed completely in black, from his combat boots and his socks, right down to his underwear. From the depths of his closet he'd also pulled out an old ski-mask he had used when he had gone on vacation with his family. He'd even almost carried along a sword that one of his friends had given him for his sixteenth birthday, but luckily he hadn't been able to find it. Standing in front of Elphaba's dorm room, realizing that she hadn't actually asked him to dress in a particular way, he suddenly felt very foolish. And nervous.

Oh hell, he felt nervous.

And oddly enough, it wasn't because he was about the break the school rules.

Fiyero knew that the worst that could happen to him if he was caught breaking into Madame Morrible's office, would be that he would be expelled... and that was hardly something new for him. No, the reason he was nervous, was because he knew he'd be spending the evening alone with Elphaba in a dark hallway. Just the thought of it made him jittery. He ran his fingers through his hair again, hoping for the umpteenth time that it looked alright. He didn't know why he was worrying so much. He'd never faced this problem before - usually he was so smooth with women. But then again, usually the women were into him... and also usually they were not Elphaba Thropp.

Steeling himself, he knocked on the door. There was short silence before he heard the sound of feet shuffling on the wooden floor. His stomach jumped in anticipation as the door opened... and a blonde hair of hair peeked out.

"Fiyero?" Galinda's eyes were wide, "What are you doing here?"

"Oh!..." Fiyero was suddenly nervous for a whole different reason, "I'm... sort of looking for Elphaba, is she there?"

"No." Galinda said flatly. For a moment, the two of them just stood there, looking at each other awkwardly, until finally, Galinda pulled open the door, inviting Fiyero inside. "She forgot her bag in the library, so she went back to get it. But she'll be here soon."

Fiyero walked inside, shooting her a timid smile.

"So," Galinda said, shutting the door and looking at her feet, "You asked her out then?"

"No... no! Of course not. We... I... you and I... we just broke up. I'm not that inconsiderate."

Fiyero's mouth was getting dry. He hadn't anticipated this, and was completely unsure of what to do. He'd never had to deal with an ex-girlfriend before. Normally, he followed a pattern - In every new school he'd be sent to, he'd date the most popular girl until he got expelled (which would usually happen about 3 or 4 weeks after he joined). Then he'd break up with her, and be off to his next school where the pattern would repeat itself. It had been the perfect situation because he never had to deal with exes, or long term commitment. But then Elphaba Tropp had appeared in his life and sent everything for a spin.

"But you've told her... about us breaking up?" Galinda asked, quietly.

"No I haven't." Fiyero had intended to, but he never found the right moment. "I haven't told anybody."

"Neither have I."

They dropped into silence again. Galinda hopped onto her bed and picked up the textbook she had been reading. Fiyero remained standing in the middle of the room, squirming uneasily.

"I got asked out by a boy already, you know?" Galinda said, trying to sound nonchalant.

"I thought you said you didn't tell anyone we broke up?"

"He didn't know we'd broken up. He didn't care. He said he loved me and that he wanted me to break up with you."

"Oh."

Fiyero hated how awkward they were being with each other. Breaking up with her had been the right thing to do (he was completely sure of that), but whatever said and done, he and Galinda had had fun while they were together, and he missed being her friend.

"Who was it?" Fiyero asked, casually. He hoped that if he acted the way he'd always acted with her, maybe things would go back to normal.

"Why? Are you jealous?"

"I'm just asking." He said, meekly.

"It was Boq."

Fiyero raised his eyebrows, "Isn't he with Nessa?"

"Apparently, they broke up."

"Oh... so Nessa's single now, is she?" Fiyero asked.

It was a redundant question of course, and Galinda remained silent.

"So..." Fiyero continued, "You going to go out with him?"

She frowned, "Don't be stupid, Fiyero. Of course not. I pushed him towards Nessa because I didn't want to be with him in the first place."

"I thought it was because you wanted to be with me?"

The room felt silent again. Fiyero mentally kicked himself. Things were starting to feel normal again, why did he have to bring that up?

Galinda was looking at him with a strange look. "So if you two aren't going on a date," She began slowly, "what _are_ you doing?"

_Oh crap. _

"And why are you dressed all in black?"

"Uhh..."

"Is that a _ski mask _in your hand?"

Abashed, Fiyero shoved it into his back pocket.

Galinda narrowed her eyes, "What are you two up to?"

"Nothing."

Galinda raised an eyebrow and Fiyero began stammering, "We... are... acting in a play. I am a thief and Elphaba is a woman... well, obviously she's a woman... I mean she's a woman in the play...also...and I steal a purse from her..."

"Fiyero, I've told you before, you are an awful liar." Galinda tried to sound exasperated, but she was grinning. Fiyero shot her an embarrassed smile. That truly had been one of his worst attempts at lying.

"Remember that time Madame Groff caught us making out behind the statue and you told her that we were in the middle of a seance?" Galinda asked, her eyes twinkling.

Fiyero groaned, "Don't remind me. She pulled my ear so hard."

"And she was like 'Do you think I'm PEA BRAINED Winkie boy?'" Galinda was laughing and soon Fiyero joined in. The two of them couldn't stop giggling and for a second, it was just like it had always been. Galinda wiped the tears from her eyes when the laughter died down.

"Why can't you tell me?" She asked, softly.

"Huh?"

"What you and Elphaba are up to?"

There wasn't actually any reason he couldn't tell her, Fiyero realized, after all, both him and Elphaba trusted her.

"Alright, I'll tell you. But you can't tell anyone."

Dragging a chair from Galinda's desk, Fiyero sat down on it and told her everything. Galinda listened intently, her features betraying more and more shock as the story came to an end.

"Oh Oz!" She gasped, as soon as Fiyero explained what he and Elphaba were heading out to do. "But Fiyero, that's so dangerous!"

"I know, but we thought about it. There isn't a very high chance of anyone catching us. The security guards don't usually check the hallways because all the rooms are locked anyway."

"But still..."

"Well, we have to do something, don't we Lin?"

Galinda fell silent at Fiyero's nickname for her.

Fiyero was mentally berating himself for making things awkward again, when the door opened and Elphaba walked into the room. Fiyero felt a rush of joy at seeing her.

"Elphaba!" He said, smiling.

Elphaba quirked at eyebrow at his outfit, but remained silent, dumping her bag on her chair.

"Hi Elphie," Galinda said, smiling at her roommate.

"Hey Galin... I mean, Glinda."

"Glinda?" Fiyero shot Galinda a quizzical look.

"Oh yeah, didn't I mention? I've changed my name." Glinda said, trying to hide her satisfaction at seeing the look on Fiyero's face.

"Why did you change your name?" He asked, taken aback. He and Galin... uhh Glinda had only been broken up for a few days, but he suddenly felt like he hardly knew her at all.

"I just, wanted a change I guess." Glinda said, shrugging.

"You didn't mention it to him?" Elphaba asked, a look of slight confusion lacing her features.

"It must have slipped my mind."

"You forgot to mention that you were _changing your name_." Fiyero said, "That's not something you just forget to mention."

"Well Fiyero..." Glinda sniped, "Maybe..."

"Ok you two, stop flirting. Come on, James Bond, we have to go." Elphaba grabbed her room keys, missing the uncomfortable glances Fiyero and Glinda gave each other.

**x x x**

The night had gone unusually smoothly. Elphaba and Fiyero had slipped past the guards at the main door easily, and had made it to Madame Morrible's office without a hitch. The door had been locked, and Fiyero had 'heroically' tried to break it down a few times, before he'd hurt his arm and Elphaba found the key under the doormat. The only problem they encountered was the issue of actually finding the evidence. No one could call Madame Morrible 'a neat person', and her room essentially looked like a tornado had hit it. Maybe a tornado _had_ hit it... after all, Madame Morrible's magical specialty was altering the weather.

Elphaba was afraid to turn the lights in the room on, in case anyone saw it and got suspicious, so instead they carried flashlights, which gave off a small, dim glow that made searching for the evidence all that much harder.

"You know," Fiyero was saying as Elphaba sorted through piles of papers, "We're always doing these risky things together. The lion cub thing, and now this. We should start a club."

"A club?" Elphaba tried to keep herself from smiling. Fiyero was such a dork.

"Yeah. What should we call ourselves?"

"Intelligent and not so intelligent?" she suggested.

"Mean." Fiyero retorted, "I was thinking Green Chillies, because I'm hot..."

"...and I'm green. How hilarious." Elphaba said blandly. Fiyero shot her a grin.

"But come on," he said, "you have to admit. We make a good team."

Elphaba turned to look at him. He had his back to her, seemingly preoccupied with the papers he was looking at. She frowned... he was being all enigmatic again.

"Yes," she said, hesitating, "we're a good team." _What is he playing at?_

Fiyero didn't say anything more, and so Elphaba turned back to the papers before her and started reading them. _Essay, note from the dean, essay, essay... _

"I told Gal...Glinda... about our plan." Fiyero blurted out suddenly.

There was a pause, before Elphaba said, "That's fine. I trust her."

"Oh good." Fiyero breathed out loudly. Elphaba smiled. Was Fiyero frightened of her, or something? But the fact that the prince had come clean about what was on his mind, encouraged her to do the same.

"I'm really disappointed in Nises." She confessed, biting her lip. She wasn't sure why she was telling him this, but for some reason, she'd started feeling... well, like she could tell him things. When she had told Nises about overhearing Madame Morrible's conversation, she couldn't bring herself to tell him that it was because she was listening through the door. But when Fiyero had asked her what was wrong, she told him about it without a second thought. It was odd, she knew, that she felt so comfortable around him. Especially since he made her feel so... well, odd. But that was because of her dream, she reminded herself, not anything else.

"I mean, don't get me wrong," she continued, "I don't wish he was here instead of you or anything, but it's just... I didn't expect him to completely want out, you know? I mean... I know he's scared. I don't blame him for that, I really don't. But... he didn't even consider it... not even for a second. I thought..." Her voice became quiet, "I thought he was like me. But I guess he's not."

"No one's like you." Fiyero said in a soft voice.

She scoffed,"Yeah well..."

"No, I mean it in a good way. You're special, you're..." he still wasn't looking at her, "...exceptional."

The blush creeping on Elphaba's cheeks suddenly made her glad for the darkness in the room. _What is up with him? _She wondered, _Why is he being so sweet and charming all of a sudden? _

Elphaba had come to realize that she didn't understand Fiyero at all. She understood that they were friends, and that he cared about her... but it made no sense... why did he care about her to such an extent that he was willing to risk his reputation to help her save the Animals? More than his reputation... maybe even his life, if what Nises had said was true. And he was being so sweet to her... It baffled Elphaba. When he had first started being nice to her, she thought he might have had some hidden agenda. But Glinda had promised her that that wasn't true. _"Fifi really cares about things," _she had told her, _"It doesn't seem like it, because he doesn't bother with things very often, but when he does care about something, he's cares about it fiercely." _Elphaba hadn't paid too much attention to her words. After all, how many girls were willing to admit their boyfriends were shallow assholes? But it seemed like Glinda had been right. How could Elphaba have misjudged him so completely?

Turning to Madame Morrible's desk, Elphaba picked up another set of papers... and then recoiled, letting out a loud gasp.

"What?" Fiyero said, spinning around, "What's wrong?"

"It's nothing." Elphaba said, averting her gaze from the desk. She tried to keep the tremor out of her voice.

"What is it?" Fiyero's eyes were filled with worry. Looking at the desk, he frowned, "No, but actually... I can't see anything."

"It's..." Elphaba squeezed her eyes shut, "It's the snow globe, ok? I have a fear of snow globes."

"What?" Fiyero let out a snicker, "Seriously?" He picked up the glass orb and threw it in the air with his left hand, catching it easily with his right. "Miss Elphaba Thropp, who is risking her life to expose the Wizard of Oz's evil nature, is scared of a glass ball with fake snow in it?"

"I just..." Elphaba gritted her teeth, and then sighed, "When I was young, I was playing with a snow globe and it broke and I cut myself on one of the shards of glass, and there was a lot of blood... and pain. And so, ever since then, I've had this great fear of snow globes. Alright?"

She turned to face Fiyero, whose eyes were shining with amusement. "I have a legitimate reason."

"Very legitimate." he said with mock sympathy.

"Now you."

"Excuse me?"

"Your turn."

"My turn for what?"

"I just told you what I'm really afraid of. Now it's your turn."

"This isn't a game." Fiyero reminded her.

"It is now." Elphaba stood determinedly in front of him.

Fiyero looked at her smirk and knew, as she did, that she had got him. Searching her eyes, he suddenly felt the overpowering urge to grab her and kiss her. But he knew he couldn't. _That's my fear_, he felt like saying, _I'm scared you don't love me the way I love you. I'm scared you will never love me the way I love you. _But he couldn't say that, of course. So he had to settle for another fear of his. One that wasn't so... consuming.

Turning back to the papers before him, Fiyero mumbled under his breath.

"What?" Elphaba demanded, "I can't understand you."

"It's crows, alright? I'm really scared of crows."

"Crows?" Now it was Elphaba's turn to look amused.

"Well snow globes are not going to eat your flesh when you're dead." Fiyero said, throwing her an irritable look.

"That's why you're scared of them? But you're going to be dead, how does that even..."

"That's not why. I'm scared of them because they have these beady little eyes and you can't ever tell what they're thinking and that scares me, ok?" He made a face, "Let's just drop the subject."

Elphaba giggled, but obediently turned back to the desk. The two of them continued working in silence. The shuffling of papers and the wind seeping through the cracks in the window were the only sounds in the room, but Elphaba's thoughts were so loud and chaotic, that she forgot that neither of them had said anything for a while.

Fiyero broke the silence.

"What's that?" He asked. He standing beside the file cabinet that he had been rummaging through, but he was pointing at a closet, which was tucked away in the corner of the room. Elphaba looked up to see a large, cardboard box on top of it.

"I don't know, but I'll check it out. You keep looking through the files."

She walked over to the closet. Standing on her toes and raising her arms, she attempted to grasp the box.

"Are you sure you don't need help?" Fiyero asked skeptically.

"I'm _fine _Fiyero." Her fingers grabbed the sides of the box and she pulled it towards her. Unfortunately, she hadn't anticipated it's weight. The heavy box fell on her, causing her to lose her balance and topple over backwards. Fiyero had run up behind her to help, but ended up being useful only to cushion her fall. Coughing from the dust that had filled the room, the two of them lay on the ground, crushed by the heavy box.

"You're right. You are a commotion." Fiyero said, groaning under the combined weight of Elphaba and the box.

With a grunt, Elphaba pushed the box off her. Placing one hand on the floor, she hoisted herself up and turned around, realizing with a jolt, that her face was just above Fiyero's.

_Kissing distance, _her mind informed her.

_Stop it! You can't think things like that! _

But for a moment it was hard to remember why. Lying on the ground with his hair tousled and that lopsided grin on his face, Fiyero had never looked cuter. It would be so easy just to lean down and...

_He's dating your best friend._

Elphaba scrambled off him, trying to shake all thoughts from her mind. Fiyero pushed himself onto his elbows. His shirt dipped on one side, revealing his right collarbone.

"Geez. What's in that damn thing?"

Elphaba shrugged. Her mind was still spinning and she felt weak-kneed. Why the hell did she suddenly have this great urge to know what Fiyero's lips felt like?

Pulling the box over to her, she opened the top flaps. The box was filled with files. On top of all of them, however, was a large envelope filled with pieces of paper. Pulling one of them out, Elphaba read it, her eyes darting back and forth across the page.

A victorious grin broke out on her face.

"We found it."

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**Next chapter will be up soon... hopefully (jobs suck). As always, feel free to review! **


	6. Chapter 6

**I realize that a couple of chapters ago, when I asked you guys who you imagined as Fiyero and Elphaba, some of you asked me who I was imagining and I never replied. Well, like most of you, I too imagine my own Elphaba and Fiyero... like, I have sort of imagined my own characters who are themselves, and resemble no one in particular. I did draw my inspiration from Idina Menzel and Norbert Leo Butz (I feel like they are the quintessential Elphaba and Fiyero) but the characters I imagine in my head while writing the story aren't them. **

**Well, I'll stop rambling now. Without further ado, ****here's chapter 6! **

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**Chapter 6**

_Madame Morrible,_

_How is our dear young Elphaba getting along? I hope the magic lessons are going well, because we will be requiring her powers much sooner than I had anticipated. _

_The people of Oz are starting to think of the Animals as an enemy. The cages are getting more and more popular, and Animals from all over the land are getting fired from their jobs and are starting to be treated quite despicably. But my dear Madame Morrible, it is still not enough - what we need is one large and horrifying incident to secure the belief that 'Animals are evil' in our people's minds. Only then will we truly be looked at as saviors. I hope Miss Elphaba's magic is powerful enough to accomplish what I have planned._

_Do write back and let me know how she is getting on. I will send a man over soon to inform you of the things I have in mind for this plan. _

_The Wizard of Oz _

Elphaba read the letter again, curled up under her blankets. The glow from the flashlight made the letter cast shadows on the wall behind her bed - shadows that looked as forbidding as the content the letter held. Shoving it under her pillow, she flipped onto her back and stared up at the ceiling. For a long time she watched as more carefree shadows danced along it, and listened to the soft sounds of Glinda breathing.

The world seemed so unaware.

She fidgeted under her covers unable to fall asleep. How could she fall asleep, knowing what she knew? That _she_ was the crux of all of this. She could hardly believe it - not only was the Wizard planning on making the People of Oz unite against the innocent Animals to boost his own power and status, but he planned on using _her _to do so. The thought scared Elphaba more than she could even begin to believe, but it also made her feel a strange sensation of guilt, like she had somehow been involved in everything.

_You have nothing to do with this, _she reminded herself.

Yet, she couldn't shake the sense of foreboding that came over her. Nises was right. If she exposed the Wizard, he was going to come after her and kill her. And if - by some freak chance - she managed to escape, he'd get the whole of Oz to turn against her, just like he got them to turn against the Animals.

If Elphaba exposed the Wizard, then her life as a normal citizen of Oz would be over... for good.

_You never were a normal citizen of Oz, _she told herself, _maybe this is what was planned for you all along. Maybe this is your destiny._

But no thought could help alleviate the absolute terror growing in her heart.

**x x x**

Fiyero was over the moon.

Practically skipping down the school hallways lost in his elated fantasies, he knew that nothing could bring him down. Teachers had been yelling at him all day for not paying attention in class and people had been sending him strange looks (apart from that group of guys who had misinterpreted his dreamy behavior to signify something else, and had given him high-fives), but he couldn't care less. The night before had gone perfectly. Not only had they not been caught, but as Elphaba was saying goodnight, Fiyero realized that she couldn't look him in the eye. Given that he had been sweet and charming to her all night, that could only mean one thing - she had started to feel something for him.

Maybe it wasn't love, maybe it wasn't even lust... maybe she just noticed that he had a cute smile or nice eyes or something... but the fact still remained that whatever she had thought had suddenly made her shy around him, and that was proof enough that she had been thinking _something _in his favour.

Stopping at a water fountain, Fiyero found himself dreamily picturing a future for them. They would have to stay at his family's extra castle at Kiamo Ko, of course, because he was _not_ about to share a castle with his parents. Kiamo Ko was a nice place though... from what he remembered, it had a large garden where their three kids could ride their ponies and it had a large ballroom on the ground floor where Fiyero could throw parties. He would have to steal the cook from his parents though. He wasn't about to start a life where he couldn't have Maurice's lemon tarts...

"Hey Fiyero," A coquettish voice broke him out of his reverie.

Turning towards the voice, he was surprised to find that it had come from Elphaba's sister, Nessarose. He hadn't noticed when she had appeared beside him, but there she sat, a bashful smile on her face. He blinked.

She looked... different.

Her long, brown hair was loose around her face and her features looked more prominent due to the excessive amount of makeup that she had on. Her usually frumpy clothes were replaced by a short, tight, black dress. She wheeled her chair around, stopping it in front of him, blocking his path.

"You busy now?" she asked, fingering a loose strand of hair.

"No. I just finished my last class of the day. Why, do you need something?" He tried to sound as sincere as possible. He knew better than anyone that helping out Nessa was a sure-fire way of earning brownie points with Elphaba.

"Yes, as a matter of fact. I was wondering if you could give me some advice on something."

"It would have to be something non-work related... studies aren't exactly my forte." He said, sending her a crooked grin.

"That's fine." she said, "It's got nothing to do with school. It's about relationships, actually. You've had a lot of those, haven't you?"

"Well..."

She giggled, "So, will you help me?"

"Sure. What do you need to know?"

"Not here, silly."

Fiyero looked puzzled, "Then where?"

"I know a place that's more private where we can discuss this. Follow me." Turning around, she began wheeling herself down the hallway. Fiyero followed uncertainly. It was strange that Nessa was asking him for relationship advice out of the blue, particularly since they hadn't said two words to each other since the night Fiyero threw that party at the Ozdust.

_But then again, she did just break up with the first boy she ever dated. And I do date a lot of girls. I guess it makes sense that she would ask me for relationship advice. _

Nessa had stopped outside a classroom.

"I thought it might be nice and private in here," she said, an impish smile ghosting her features. She pushed the door open and Fiyero followed her, looking uncomfortably around the empty classroom. He made it a habit to stay away from classrooms unless it was absolutely essential for him to be in one. To walk into one voluntarily for no reason felt so _wrong. _

The door shut with a bang behind them. Nessa gestured towards a desk and Fiyero hoisted himself on top of it. She wheeled herself so that she was right in front of him. She remained silent, but began to look him up and down, as if drinking in every detail of his physique. Fiyero shifted uneasily on the desk. Her behaviour was starting to rattle him, but he figured, he hardly knew Nessa at all. Maybe she was always like this, how was he to know? After all, last time he had talked to her, she'd been almost completely drunk.

"It really sucks about you and Boq," he said, in an attempt to break the strange silence.

"Oh, forget Boq. Boq's heartless. I don't want him anyway."

She was steadily rolling closer to him. Fiyero leaned back as much as he could to create distance between them. He tried to seem nonchalant as he did so, but he was sure she could tell he was uncomfortable.

"You like someone new then?" he asked, tugging at his collar.

Nessa smirked, "You feeling hot?"

"No. This shirt just itches."

"_I'm _feeling hot."

"You want me to open a window?"

She giggled. "Silly boy," she said as she ran a finger down her exposed neck.

Something was very wrong here. Yes, Fiyero was not the most brilliant of people, but even he could tell that something was off. Taking a deep breath, he squared his shoulders.

"So you wanted advice..."

"Yes." She began running her tongue over her lips, slowly and deliberately, "You see... there's this Prince. And he's _very _sexy. And I just want to know what I can do to get him... into... my... bed."

Fiyero managed a strained smile, "Colourful bedsheets?"

Nessa laughed, throwing her head back, "Oh Fiyero..."

Suddenly her hands were on his thighs, vigorously rubbing the fabric. Fiyero sprung off the desk.

"Look Nessa, I want to help you..."

"Help me then," she grabbed his tie, pulling him down so he was face-level with her, "I want you to kiss me like you've never kissed anyone before."

Fiyero's head was reeling. He tried to tug his tie out of Nessa's hands as gently as possible, but the girl had a vice-like grip. Feeling his resistance, she pulled his tie with more force, dragging him closer.

He was starting to sweat. He didn't want to embarrass Nessa, but he had to get away from her_. _Her lips were mere inches away from his... so close, he could smell the carrots on her breath. Grasping the back of her wheelchair, he began pulling away from her clutch, but she grabbed his neck with her hands and yanked him close again.

"Didn't you hear me, Fiyero? I _want _you."

The sound of the door crashing open made Nessa let go of him. Rubbing the back of his neck, which was throbbing from the sharpness of her fingernails, he looked up... and froze.

In the doorway, her eyes flashing, stood Glinda.

"Lin..." He started.

"Galinda!" Nessa said, batting her eyelashes innocently, "I'm so sorry. I forgot I asked you to meet me here."

But Glinda's eyes weren't on Nessa.

"So you're in _love _are you, Fiyero?" she spat. Her eyes were dark, threatening.

"What? Glinda, no... listen." He tried to walk towards her, but Nessa grabbed his hand, entwining her fingers in his.

"The minute you find out Nessa is single, you try to get into her skirt!" Glinda's words were coming out in a hiss, "You're so much _in love_ with my roommate, that you're fine fooling around with her sister!"

Fiyero snatched his hand out of Nessa's, pushing her out of the way.

"It seriously isn't what it looks like!"

Glinda was laughing now. A low, depraved laugh that gave Fiyero goosebumps, "And I believed you! How stupid was I? Like the playboy prince extraordinaire could ever be in love, and with the green bean too!"

"Glinda!"

But she was gone, slamming the door behind her.

Fiyero just stood there, desolate, his arms hanging limply by his side.

Nessa shrugged as she wheeled her way to the door, "The bitch deserved that."

"No she didn't." Fiyero said angrily, turning to the girl, "Why would you do something like that?"

"Boq broke up with me because of that skank!" Nessa shouted back, her eyes burning with fury, "She deserved to know what rejection feels like."

"Rejection? That was not rejection, that was a _lie._"

"Well, now she thinks her boyfriend is cheating on her. It's going to feel like rejection to her."

Fiyero's eyes held a look of enraged disbelief, "Didn't you hear anything she said to me just now? Glinda and I are no longer together!"

Nessa froze, her tragically beautifully features suddenly filling with fear.

"Is she... with Boq?" she asked, slowly.

"What? No..."

"Then I don't care." Nessa flipped her hair out of her face with a definitive air, "I wanted her to feel crushed and hopeless, and I got what I wanted. Now move out of my way, Tiggular. I'm done with you."

Shoving him to the side, Nessa wheeled out of the door, letting it slam behind her.

**x x x**

Glinda wiped the burning tears from her eyes, but they were replaced just as fast by another set.

_How could he DO this to me? _

The students in the corridors were sending her quizzical looks and she tried to ignore them as she stalked past. It was no surprise that she still had feelings for Fiyero... that stupid, beautiful boy. She didn't even think he was perfect anymore and she still wanted him.

_No._

She USED to want him. She was done with that low-life, cheating scumbag. How could he _lie _to her in such a way? How could he look her in the eyes, pretending like he cared about her, and tell her that he was breaking up with her because he was in love with her roommate?

What an elaborate ploy. What a low-down, sordid elaborate lie. She could feel the white hot rage building up inside her. And she thought that he was the one. HAH.

Fiyero Tiggular was not the one. Fiyero Tiggular was a dirty, sleazy Winkie Prince who couldn't keep his grubby paws to himself. Fiyero Tiggular was a disgusting lowlife who needed to be taught a lesson.

Pushing open the door before her, Glinda stood adamantly in front of the large woman.

"Glinda dear!" Madame Morrible looked startled to see her, "Do you need something?"

"Yes Madame. There's something I need to tell you..."

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**So there it is. I'll try and upload the next chapter as soon as I can (*cough* reviews help speed up the process *cough*) **


	7. Chapter 7

**Here's chapter 7! **

******I'm kinda unsure about this chapter... i**t's a little bit more serious than I had intended it to be (It was way more serious before and it was making me grim, but I revised it and it's better now), but next chapter will be more fluffy, I promise. 

**A few things... I haven't read the Wicked book yet (I bought it, I just need to start reading it) which basically means that I have no idea what Oz is like geographically, so I just sort of made a bunch of stuff up for this chapter. Please bear with me. Also, I realized recently that the broadway musical of Wicked is kind of like a fanfiction of the book, which is essentially fanfiction of the Wizard of Oz. So basically, I'm writing fanfiction of a fanfiction of a fanfiction. It's a fanfiception :D**

**Ok, ok. I'll stop now. **

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**Chapter 7 **

**The Party (Part I) **

Elphaba made a face at her reflection.

_Alright, that settles it, _she thought, _I am never going to try and do my own hair ever again. _She had tried to pin the front of her hair back in an attempt to make it look like that of a girl from her English class, but she had ended up looking more like a rhinoceros. Never having styled her own hair before, she had done something wrong and now her thick, dark hair was poking out from under the clip, protruding out over her forehead.

Groaning, she undid the pins. She thought again about asking Glinda to do her hair for her, but Glinda had been moody and distant lately, and Elphaba felt a little nervous talking to her.

_This is stupid, _Elphaba thought, _Why am I bothering so much over my hair? I have so much more to worry about. _

She had _too _much to worry about, particularly since it was the afternoon before the party, which meant that in a few hours, Elphaba was going to expose the Wizard of Oz's lies to everyone. The thought made her extremely nauseous.

The past five days had been an emotional rollercoaster for Elphaba. Apart from the absolute dread she had been feeling ever since she and Fiyero had found the evidence, a number of other things had also been causing a emotional stir within her; Glinda's odd behaviour had been making her anxious and upset, Nessa's depression over her break-up made her feel sad for her little sister, but it was also a little exhausting to deal with, not to mention, Elphaba was still a little sore from her argument with Nises. But worst of all, Elphaba had discovered something big, and it had been preoccupying her thoughts ever since.

It happened a few days ago.

Elphaba had been studying on her bed when the door of her room crashed open. Glinda had walked in, her lips stuck to that of a boy, her fingers entangled in his black hair. It didn't take Elphaba very long at all to realize that he was not Fiyero.

The emotion that had erupted in Elphaba had completely surprised her... because out of all the emotions that she could have felt, she felt rage. She told herself it was because she and Fiyero had grown to be good friends and she didn't like seeing him cheated on... which made total sense, right? She'd then jumped off her bed, interrupted the passionate embrace between Glinda and 'Mr. Patchy Stubble' with a false sweet, "Glinda! I need to speak to you!" and had then dragged her small roommate out into the hallway.

"Elphie, what the hell?" Glinda had said in a harsh whisper.

"What do you think you're doing?" Elphaba had said, sounding angrier than she had intended, "In case you didn't notice, that boy is not Fiyero."

"Oh get with the program, Elphaba." Glinda had said bitterly, "Fiyero and I broke up like a week ago."

"_What?_"

Elphaba had wanted to ask a thousand and one questions, including _why _and _when were you planning on telling me this? _But she couldn't get the words out of her mouth. Glinda had then flounced back inside to continue her game of tonsil tennis, leaving Elphaba outside with all her queries raging in her mind.

The biggest question of them all, however, was why the hell _Fiyero_ wasn't the one to tell her this.

It had upset her... a little bit too much. Why hadn't he wanted her to know? It wasn't like he didn't have the opportunity to tell her... the two of them had pretty much spent all their time together since he had offered to help her break into Madame Morrible's office. They had spent so much time together, in fact, that she actually missed him when he wasn't with her.

And that was when it hit her.

It hit her hard, like a house falling out of the sky and hitting her on the head.

She had resisted it and ignored it and pretended like it was something else, but she couldn't lie to herself anymore. She had feelings for Fiyero. And they weren't small feelings either... no, she had fallen completely and utterly for that stupid, blue-eyed, dorky, surprising, incredible boy.

And she had been wrestling with those feelings ever since.

She wondered now if it had been obvious. Was that why Glinda had been acting so strange around her? Did Glinda realize that Elphaba was sitting here trying to do her hair on a night where her whole future was at stake, because she wanted Glinda's ex-boyfriend to think she was beautiful? It made Elphaba feel guilty, but she couldn't help herself anymore. That boy had stolen her heart and was absolutely refusing to give it back. It had taken her long enough to realize it, but now that she had, she literally couldn't get the idiot out of her head. She had to finally admit it to herself, she was crazy about him.

The thought filled her with both giddiness and sadness. She didn't know if Fiyero would ever feel the same way about her... but even if, by some crazy random happenstance he decided that he returned the artichoke's feelings, there would be no point... because they could never be together.

Because this was going to be Elphaba's last night at Shiz.

Fiyero thought that he and Elphaba would be exposing the Wizard together, but Elphaba was not going to let that happen. She knew that as soon as they exposed the Wizard, Madam Morrible would be after them and the only way to escape her would be to leave Oz. Elphaba could do it, she didn't have much to lose... but Fiyero did. The prince's whole life was in Oz, and she wasn't going to let him lose it.

So, behind Fiyero's back, Elphaba had come up with her own plan. She was going to sneakily expose the Wizard on her own. And then, she was going to grab the bag she had stashed in the library, and she was going to run.

Elphaba had spent the past few nights lying in bed with maps trying to figure out _where_ she was going to run, when she had discovered a boat a few towns away that took passengers to a little Island outside of Oz known as 'Kwox'. 'Kwox' was the official name, but it was more popularly known as 'Freak Town' because it was supposedly inhabited by a number of extremely bizarre people. It was also the town a number of Animals were escaping to, in order to remain safe. Elphaba couldn't think of a more perfect place for her to hide. She'd be safe there... she didn't think the Wizard would chase her once she was out of Oz.

But still, the thought of a life where she wouldn't see the faces of the people she loved every day made her miserable. She couldn't even say goodbye to anyone, she knew. To prevent Fiyero from making the announcement with her, she'd have to do it when he was preoccupied, and she'd have to run immediately after. Which meant that the first half of the party was all she had to say goodbye to Nessa and Glinda... and Fiyero. She tried to put the thought of not seeing Fiyero Tiggular's goofy smile ever again out of her mind.

This was her destiny... this was what she believed, and she knew it was the right thing to do.

But she _was _going to enjoy the party, because not even her destiny was not going to stop Elphaba Thropp from leaving Shiz with a bang.

**x x x**

The chattering of people and the clinking of glasses filled the large ballroom, which was completely packed with Shiz students in elegant dresses and tuxedos. Standing on his toes, Fiyero looked around the ballroom, hoping to spot a flash of green. He'd checked all the places that Elphaba would normally be... which was essentially just the snack bar, and the plastic chairs on the side of the dance-floor, and when he saw that she wasn't in either of those places, he assumed that she and Glinda probably hadn't come yet.

Fiyero scratched his arm nervously. It had just dawned on him the night before what exactly he and Elphaba were going to do tonight... and he had to admit, the thought scared him. Sure, Fiyero had a 'scandalacious' reputation, but he had never done something so perilous before. It had only just hit him that once they went through with their plan, their lives were never going to be the same. It was incredibly scary, but Fiyero knew he was going to go through with it all the same. He had never done anything selfless in his life... maybe it was time he started now.

But then again, what he was doing wasn't selfless at all, because giving up his princely life was just a small price he was paying for the ultimate treasure of getting to spend the rest of his life with Elphaba Thropp.

**x x x**

Fiyero was still waiting for the girls to arrive when he was distracted by a figure in a red suit that was swerving and skittering through the crowd. He watched it intently, until it finally disappearing into an adjacent ballroom.

_Is that... Nises? _

Fiyero hadn't seen the boy since the day Elphaba had told him of her plan to break into Madame Morrible's office. Elphaba had bumped into him a few times, she told Fiyero, but their conversations had been short and extremely formal. She'd confessed to Fiyero that even though she'd understood why he hadn't been willing to help her, she was still a little hurt and didn't really want to face him.

Maybe Elphaba understood why Nises had backed out, but Fiyero certainly didn't. And he decided that this was the perfect time to give that boy a piece of his mind.

Pushing through the crowd, Fiyero walked into the empty ballroom. Spotting Nises at the very end of the colossal room, sitting on a table, gazing out of a window, he began marching towards him, adamantly.

The sound of Fiyero's footsteps on the wooden floor startled the boy, who stared dazed in Fiyero's direction for a few minutes until his face came into view.

"Fiyero?" He called out, confused.

"Yup."

"What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in the other ballroom, 'gallanting' around?" Nises waggled his arms.

Fiyero frowned. Something about the way Nises was talking and moving seemed... off. As he walked closer to him, however, he suddenly understood why. The boy was practically reeking of alcohol. Fiyero spotted a beer bottle clutched in one of his hands.

"Are you drunk?" He asked, incredulously.

"Why is that so hard to believe?" Nises slurred, "Only rich boys get to be drunk?"

Standing in front of the table, seeing the normally composed boy looking like a total mess, Fiyero was suddenly struck by a sense of pity for him.

"Why do you hate me so much?" He asked. He tried to make himself sound angry, but it didn't come out that way, "Honestly. What have I ever done to you?"

"My whole life, I've been tormented by people like you," Nises said bitterly. He leaned back against the wall, but did it too fast, and ended up bumping his head. He groaned as Fiyero tried to conceal his smile.

"Don't let that diminish the impact of my speech." Nises said, shaking his finger at Fiyero, "You have no idea what I've been though. And boys like you... ugh. They're the cause of all of it. Boys like you are the reason I was miserable."

"Boys like what?"

For the second time this week, Fiyero realized that he had walked into something he didn't quite understand.

"You know... rich, spoilt, arrogant... good-looking." Nises spat the last word out, venomously.

"Look Nises... I don't know what it is you've been through, but it's not fair to take it out on me."

"I take it out on you because you're a symbol for them. Reminding me every step of the way." Nises was mumbling. He took a swig from a bottle in his hand. Fiyero eyed it doubtfully, but didn't make any effort to stop him.

Nises continued dazedly, "Reminding me that I'm different. And that you guys are perfect. It's not fair"

Fiyero shifted uneasily in his place. He had come into the room expecting to have an argument, but instead he was listening to a speech about how Nises was miserable... which was pretty much the last thing he had anticipated. He stared at the boy, completely unsure of what to say.

Nises made a face,"I hate your type. You princes always think you're all that. You just walk around, showing off your nice ass in those tight pants."

Ok, _that _was the last thing Fiyero had anticipated.

"What?"

Suddenly Fiyero felt himself being dragged by the shoulders, and the next thing he knew, a pair of lips were being pressed firmly against his. Everything happened so fast, Fiyero was rendered paralyzed with shock.

Nises pulled away very soon after, feeling Fiyero's unresponsiveness. The Winkie Prince was frozen, a bewildered look upon his face. Gasping and covering his mouth with his hand, Nises's eyes grew wide.

"Oh Oz! Fiyero... I'm...I'm so sorry," Nises was shaking, suddenly seeming more sober, "I have no idea what came over me, I'm so, so sorry! I don't even... I mean... I don't have feelings for you or anything. It was the alcohol, I promise!"

"You're... gay?" Fiyero asked, his eyes as wide as dinner plates.

There was a long pause.

"Yes," Nises said finally, his words suddenly coming out in a rush, "But listen Fiyero, please, you can't tell anyone about it. When people find out..." He closed his eyes, exhaling loudly, "That's why I had to leave my old school. When people found out I was gay, they bullied me and treated me like complete shit. Not to mention, that became my identity. I wasn't 'Nises' anymore, I was 'that gay kid'... and I'm so much more than that, you know?"

"You don't have feelings for Elphaba?" Fiyero asked, stunned, still unable to process what was happening.

"No! And I don't have any for you either. I don't know what that was, honestly."

"But..." Fiyero was having a difficult time finding words.

He had thought that Nises was the only thing standing in the way of him and Elphaba getting together, but it turned out, that wasn't true at all.

There was nothing in their way... nothing at all.

"When I first saw Elphaba, I... I knew how she felt, you know? I knew what she was going through, and that's why I approached her. And I'm glad I did. I do care about her, a lot. I really do. I just... I can't expose the Wizard. I just can't. But I promise, when you guys do, I will do all I can to help you escape, I just..." Nises's arms fell limply by his side, "Seriously, Fiyero. Are you going to say something or what?"

Fiyero's face had suddenly lit up like a christmas tree. Grabbing Nises by the shoulders, he pulled him into a hug.

"You're a cool guy, Nises. I'm sorry we spent so much time fighting."

Nises pulled back, confused, "You're not... creeped out? About... about the kiss?"

"No, of course not. You're just human after all," Fiyero winked, "And I promise, your secret is safe with me."

"Thanks man," Nises looked completely bewildered, "I... really appreciate it."

"I hope things work out for you." Fiyero said, genuinely, "And let me tell you something, the guys in your old school are idiots... the people who really love you will accept you no matter what your sexual orientation is or what you look like. They will love you for who you are."

A look of realization finally dawned in Nises's eyes.

"You're in love with Elphaba," He said, slowly, "That's why you hated me so much."

"I didn't hate you... and anyway, you weren't the nicest guy to me, either." Fiyero pointed out.

"Yeah, sorry about that." Nises laughed,"So wait, you thought I was with Elphaba?"

Fiyero shrugged, "Well..."

"She's lucky to have you." Nises said, a small smile on his face.

"Don't I know it." Fiyero said, smirking, "Now, she just needs to figure it out."

* * *

**The Ozians discriminate against Animals and Green People, so I think it's a fair assumption to say that my poor Nises would have been bullied in his old school. Anyway, I hope this chapter was alright :) **

**The Party scene continues in the next chapter, and maybe even the one after that... we'll see. I'll try and update as soon as possible. **


	8. Chapter 8

**Your reviews for the last chapter made me SO happy. You guys are making me blush, seriously. Thank you so, so much. And thank you also to everyone who favourited and followed my story. You guys are the best. **

**So here's chapter 8. ****It's a little bit depressing how in love with Fiyero I am, and this chapter... ok. whatever. You'll see for yourself when you read it. **

* * *

**Chapter 8**

**The Party (Part II) **

The cold wind made Elphaba shiver. She rubbed her exposed arms, wishing she had Madame Morrible's powers to turn the night into a warmer one. She threw another glance at Glinda and her group of high-pitched, giggly friends before speeding up her pace.

So, she was a little disappointed. She had asked Glinda to walk to the party with her so that they could talk. Despite living in the same room, they had barely had a moment alone in weeks, and Elphaba was really hoping that walking to the party together would give them the time they needed to sort out... well, whatever it was that was going on between them. Elphaba had been thrilled when Glinda had agreed, but as soon as they were supposed to leave for the party, Glinda's cronies had arrived all dolled up and ready to join them.

Obviously, Glinda must have figured out that Elphaba had feelings for Fiyero, why else would she be avoiding being alone with her? What didn't make sense however, was why Glinda had been acting so skittish. Elphaba was the one pining over Glinda's ex-boyfriend, not the other way around... then why was _Glinda_ acting so guilty?

There was only one way to find out.

Reaching the ballroom, Elphaba stood outside, shivering in the cold night, waiting for the others to catch up. They did soon after, all of them laughing about a dress another girl was wearing. Elphaba rolled her eyes at their conversation... she didn't understand why Glinda's friends - who dressed (on a regular basis) in frilly pink dresses which made them look like cupcakes - thought they had the ultimate authority on fashion.

As usual they ignored Elphaba at the doorway and began trooping inside, but as they did, Elphaba grabbed hold of Glinda's arm and pulled her back.

"Elphie," Glinda said, frowning, "What are you doing? Don't you want to go inside?"

"Yes, but... I need to speak to you," Elphaba bit her lip, looking at the ground, "Look... Glinda. You've been acting strange lately..."

"Elphie, I..."

"No, listen to me. I know why, and you have every reason. I'm a terrible friend for even wanting it. I know there's... a code or something when it comes to things like this, but I... I can't really help it, can I? But you don't have to worry. I mean it's not like anything is going to happen, right? It's not like he's..."

Elphaba looked up, and stopped when she realized that Glinda's light blue eyes were filled with fear.

"Glinda?" She asked, confused, "What's going on?"

"Nothing. Nothing at all," Glinda let out a shaky laugh, "What were you saying..."

"I was just saying that if you want me to stay away from Fiyero..."

The fear quickly transformed into perplexity, "Why would I want you to stay away from Fiyero?"

Elphaba frowned. She had clearly missed something... or was Glinda just pretending not to understand her?

Glinda's eyes suddenly filled with comprehension, "I think I know what this is about."

Taking a deep breath, she put her hands on Elphaba's shoulders, "I don't know what he said to you, but don't be fooled by it. I saw him with Nessa."

"What?" Now Elphaba was completely lost. "Who?"

"Fiyero. He says he wasn't 'doing anything', but he's lying. I saw them."

"I... don't really know what's going on here. Fiyero was doing what?"

"What exactly did he say to you? About his feelings?"

"His feelings?"

"He said the same thing to me... about you that is. When we were breaking up. He used the word 'love' and all that. He must have used the same rubbish on you. He's just trying to get every girl from Shiz into his bed."

Elphaba was eyeing her roommate skeptically.

"Glinda," she said slowly, "I have no idea what you're talking about."

There was a pause and both girls stared at each other.

"Then why did you pull me out here?" Glinda demanded.

"I wanted to ask you why you've been so strange late... look. It doesn't matter. I just want us to be friends again, alright?"

At that moment, Glinda found herself being pulled into a hug. The warmth of the sudden, uncharacteristic embrace left both girls speechless.

"Come on," Elphaba said smiling, when they finally pulled apart, "Let's go inside."

As she walked into the warm ballroom, however, she missed the remorseful look on the tiny, blonde girl's face.

**x x x**

The evening was going according to plan. Not only had Elphaba patched things up with Glinda, but Nises had approached her and they had finally talked everything out. He explained that it was his fear that was preventing him from exposing the Wizard and she clarified that she wasn't upset with him because of that. She was upset because he had just abandoned her. He promised her it wouldn't happen again.

"I'll help you escape when they come to get you," he vowed, "I'll ward them off... I'll do whatever I can to buy you some time."

And just like that, all her disappointment had vaporized and they were back to the way they'd always been. She'd wanted to continue talking to him... to let him know everything that had happened while they were avoiding each other, but he'd had to leave soon after, claiming that he'd had too much to drink.

So she was back to being alone, sitting on the plastic chairs at the edge of the dance floor, watching all the other students sway to the music. It didn't matter though, because for once things had worked out and she was extremely happy.

Alright, there _was_ one thing missing...

"Well, aren't you the life of the party."

The deep voice made her heart flutter, but she refused to turn around and face him.

"What are you doing here?" She asked, casually smoothening out her dress, "Shouldn't you be with Glinda?"

"Oh... right. About that."

She peeked at him from the corner of her eye, her heart skipping a beat when she saw his face.

"Glinda and I actually..."

"I know." She said, bluntly, "She told me."

"Then why did you..."

"Why didn't _you_ tell me?"

His eyes twinkled, "Why did I need to tell you?"

She turned away, feeling foolish. He sat down on the chair beside her.

"Because that's what friends do, Fiyero. They tell each other things." She sounded like a stubborn child, "Because you didn't tell me, I thought you and Glinda were still together and I went and embarrassed myself in front of some guy Glinda was hooking up with."

Fiyero looked a bit too amused at that. "What did you do?"

"It doesn't matter." She said, hastily, "The point is, if you'd told me, it wouldn't have happened."

"I'm sorry."

"Whatever."

"Let me make it up to you."

He stood up. She glanced up to see his outstretched palm.

"What?" She asked, blankly.

"What do you mean, what? Let's dance."

Her eyes grew wide with fear and he snickered.

"I had no idea dancing with me was such a terrifying concept."

"I don't dance."

"I know that's a lie because we danced together at the Ozdust... or have you forgotten that already?"

Without waiting for her to say anything, he grabbed her hand and pulled her onto her feet. He then began dragging her onto the dance floor. Elphaba watched the inquisitive eyes of the other students follow her, and she knew what they were thinking. _Why the hell was the handsome, scandalicious prince asking the cucumber to dance?_

They'd reached the middle of the floor. Draping her hands around his neck, Fiyero snaked his hands down to her hips, pulling her closer. She could feel a heart thumping but she wasn't sure if it was coming from his chest or hers. It should have been easy to tell... but his hands which were now wrapped around her waist, were making it incredibly hard for her to think. As they swayed together, Elphaba tried to ignore the looks they were receiving.

"They're just staring because they can't believe how beautiful you're looking tonight," He breathed in her ear.

"Yeah right." Elphaba rolled her eyes, but she couldn't prevent a shy smile.

Slowly Elphaba found her eyes starting to shut. Resting her head on Fiyero's shoulder, she allowed the moment to envelope her completely. The feel of his chest, the smell of his cologne, the sound of him breathing...

And just for that moment, there were no people. It was just the two of them. Absolutely alone.

Elphaba opened her eyes as the song ended. She turned to head back to her chair, but Fiyero grabbed her hand again.

"Where do you think you're going?" He demanded, "You're mine for the rest of the night."

_If only I was yours, _she sighed internally. But she allowed herself to return to her former position in his arms as the next song began.

"You should wear sleeveless dresses more often." He mused in a low voice, as they continued swaying.

She made a face, "Please. Who wants to see more of my green skin than they already have to?"

"I think you look sexy."

"I think I look nauseating."

"Well, no one cares what you think." He retorted, playfully.

Was he flirting with her? She couldn't tell. She hadn't had enough social interaction in her life to be able to tell the signs. She wished there was some sort of way for her to figure out whether he was bantering as a best friend or hitting on her.

"So I see you and Nises made up." He said.

"Yeah, I'm really happy. I missed him."

Elphaba bit her lip. Fiyero had changed since she met him, and she had to find out whether or not she had anything to do with it. She had to know what he felt about her. Particularly since this was going to be her last night at Shiz. Whatever the truth was... she wouldn't see him again anyway... so, it's not like she had anything to lose.

"I don't... have feelings for Nises," she admitted softly.

There was a silence. Her inability to see his face from her current position made the 'waiting for him to say something' unbearable.

"I know," he said finally.

"You do?"

"Yup. And I also know who you _do _have feelings for."

Her increased heart race made breathing a little difficult.

"Really?" she managed.

"Well, I know he's the handsomest man in all of Oz."

"Wow, you're modest."

Pulling away, Fiyero looked at her with a look of mock surprise, "I thought you liked Boq. Who are you talking about?"

At the look on Elphaba's face, Fiyero's broke out in a grin.

"See how I got you to admit you liked me?" He teased.

"You..."

Her heart was pounding now. He still hadn't said he liked her. But now he knew she liked him. He didn't seem... disgusted, at least. Elphaba was frozen in place, mentally begging the azure eyes before her to give some sort of hint as to what Fiyero was thinking.

"Remember I told you that I read a book once?" He said, casually.

_What is he doing? _she thought, panicking mentally, _Why isn't he telling me what he feels?_

Grasping her hips, he pulled her close again, but kept her at enough of a distance to be able to look into her eyes.

"It's depressing how big of an accomplishment you consider it to be." Even in her panicked state, the jibe came out naturally.

Fiyero ignored her. "Have I told you what it was about?"

"Two children who went up a hill to fetch a pail of water?" She suggested.

He made a face, "No."

"A little girl who wore a red hood, whose grandma gets eaten by a wolf?"

"Do you ever let anyone else speak?"

"I try not to," she said, smirking.

Fiyero grinned despite himself. _Oz, she looks beautiful, _he thought.

"Well," he said, "It's about this prince. And he's tall and devilishly handsome and really intelligent... but he's also kind hearted and misunderstood."

"This book sounds like a drag."

"All books are a drag."

"How would you know? You've only read one."

She was teasing, of course, but he could see her eyes still searching his... pleading to know whether he returned her feelings. But after all the longing and the anxiety and the _thinking _she made him go through, he was going to make her wait for it.

"Do you want to hear my story or not?"

"Alright, alright. I'm sorry. Go on."

"So one day, this prince meets this princess, and she's absolutely gorgeous and they start going out. But you see, this princess has a friend, who's not a princess. She's an ugly, warty old toad of a girl."

Elphaba frowned, "Well that's flattering."

"What are you talking about?" Fiyero asked exasperated, "This is the story of the book I read."

"Right."

"So anyway, one day while the prince is waiting for the princess to get ready for their date, he bumps into the friend and they start talking... and suddenly, for the first time in his life, the prince realizes something."

Her breath caught in her throat. He could see the hopefulness and longing in her gaze.

"What did he realize?" she breathed.

Fiyero leaned in closer, his lips hovering over hers.

"He realized... that he didn't turn his stove off. So his whole house burned down."

Elphaba glowered at him and he grinned, barely able to suppress his laughter.

"That is the worst story ever," she muttered irritably.

"Alright fine, I lied," he admitted, "I've never read a book."

_He's mocking me._

_ He knows what I feel for him and he's mocking me._

With a burning rage inside her, Elphaba dropped her arms from his neck, and turned away. She tried to walk back to the chairs, but he clasped her hand, pulling her back to him.

"Let go of..."

"I love you," he whispered.

His voice was soft and hoarse.

Her heart in her throat, she turned around, unable to believe what she had just heard. His azure eyes were staring into hers, mirroring everything she was feeling - yearning, adoration, fear.

"I love you so much."


	9. Chapter 9

**So this chapter was an excessive pain in the butt to write. For some reason I just wasn't happy with it and I literally re-wrote it like, 20 times. Bleh. Anyway, I hope it turned out alright after all that XD **

**Thank you again for your reviews :) They actually make my whole day so much better. **

* * *

**Chapter 9 **

**The Party (Part III) **

_Love? Did he just use the word LOVE?_

The sound of her heart thumping in her chest was almost deafening.

"I know you think I'm just dancing through life and don't take anything seriously, but I mean it."

The facetious grin that had been on his face just moments earlier was gone. His words were simple, yet Elphaba knew they were raw and honest. She could hear his voice shake slightly as he said them.

"I love you, Elphaba. You've... you've changed me. You've made me realize that I don't want all those things that I thought I wanted before. All I want is to be with you. Till the day I die."

Her head was swimming.

She knew she had feelings for him... very, very strong feelings... but _love? _

_Fiyero is just a boy, he doesn't know what he's talking about._

He obviously didn't understand what he was saying. He probably just had a very large crush on her and was confusing it for love. There was no way he was _actually_ in love with her.

Right?

But the way he was standing there in his black tuxedo, still gripping her hand tightly... the way his eyes held a look of uncharacteristic vulnerability... they way he said 'you've changed me' and 'till the day I die' and 'I love you'...

It was incredibly hard for her to prove to herself that he was deluded.

Standing in the middle of the dance floor, Elphaba was suddenly struck by an overwhelming sense of incredulity. After a lifetime of people who were unable to see past her green skin and actually get to know the girl inside, there came this boy, who when she first met him was absolutely insistent on being thought of as 'genuinely self-absorbed and deeply shallow'. Yet today, he was standing in the middle of a crowded room proclaiming his love for Shiz's resident freak, not giving a damn what any of the other gaping students thought.

Elphaba was caught between trying to figure out her own feelings about his proclamation and the urge to grab and kiss him.

But she couldn't do either. Not yet, at least.

Because along with the all the disbelief and the affection his words had made her feel, the most overpowering emotion had been a flush of guilt. She knew she had to tell Fiyero the truth about her plan to run away after the party. She couldn't just leave him without saying goodbye. Not now... not after everything he'd just said.

She took a deep, unsteady breath. "Fiyero... I..." She looked up into his eyes.

Big mistake.

His deep blues stared back at her with a look of intense adoration that made her feel dizzy.

"Can we talk?" She asked, looking away.

From the corner of her eye she could see a flicker of disappointment cross his face, but it vanished as soon as it had come.

"Yeah sure."

He glanced around the room, then - still clutching her hand - pulled her along with him until they were inside an adjacent, empty ballroom. Letting go of her hand, he then led her to the back of the room where they stopped before a large table which was littered with beer bottles.

"Here," he said, smiling as though it was something he had built just for them. "It's nice and quiet. I can actually hear myself think now."

She couldn't resist. "You've started _thinking?_ Wow, you really have changed."

He grimaced and stuck his tongue out at her, and she grinned back. Pushing the beer bottles to one side, Fiyero plopped himself on the table.

"So, what did you want to say?"

She didn't make any move to sit down. She didn't think she could. The thought of his potential reaction to what she was about to tell him made her too edgy. So she remained standing in front of him, unable to meet his gaze.

_Tell him. Just take a deep breath, and tell him the truth_

"Did you really mean what you said?" she blurted out.

_Idiot! That was not what you were supposed to say!_

His eyes hovered over her face, his expression suddenly unreadable.

"You don't believe me?" He asked, quietly.

"I just... don't think you're really in love."

"Why?"

"You're..." she faltered.

_You're young. _

_You're the scandalous, playboy prince who has girls swooning every time you smile. _

_Even if you are in love, it can't be with me. _

"... a prince."

She blushed at the words, internally berating herself for her answer. As though a prince couldn't fall in love. How idiotic.

But Fiyero seemed to know what she meant. Gently holding her hands, he pulled her closer.

"Let me tell you something. A few years ago, my dad and I were talking about finding a bride for me. He told me that he wouldn't force me into an arranged marriage, because he wanted me to marry for love. And I mean, I was happy with that of course, but I was naive and stupid and arrogant and I told him..."

Fiyero put on a whiny voice in a cartoonish imitation of his younger self, "'I've been with a lot of girls, dad. I could never stick to just one, and even if I'm in love with her, I probably won't marry her'."

He dropped back to his normal voice. "And my dad gave me this long hard look and then he said, 'Son, right now, you don't understand love. But one day you will. One day you will fall in love, and then you will understand just how powerful it is... or something along those lines. I wasn't actually listening. My dad's constantly making these spiels about love. He's incredibly cheesy. Like, nauseatingly so."

Cupping her cheek with his hand, he guided her gaze towards him.

"But he's right. Elphaba, I don't care if I have to give up my throne to be with you. Don't you get that? Don't you understand that I'm willing to do whatever it takes to be with you?"

"I..."

She felt helpless. She had to tell him the truth, but the words were refusing to emerge.

_No. I have to do this. I have to tell him. _

"Fiyero, I... I'm going..."

But her words got lost the minute his soft lips touched hers.

He kissed her gently at first and then more passionately as she surrendered to it. His arms wrapped around her waist, and her hands - as if by a reflex - leapt to the nape of his neck, entangling themselves in his hair. They kissed each other hungrily, each one unwilling to let go.

Eventually they broke apart, their chests heaving, euphoric grins plastered on their faces. Elphaba sat down on the table beside him, suddenly too lightheaded to stand.

"Was that... alright?" she asked, sending him a bashful look, "I mean... I've never done that before... I'm sort of... I'm inexperienced... I mean, I'm..."

"Green?" He asked, grinning.

"Shut up," she said, whacking him playfully on the arm, "Way to ruin the moment."

"What are you talking about? That was an awesome pun," he said, laughing, "And what's wrong with being green?"

She made a face.

"You're beautiful," he said, looking sincerely into her eyes, "You just have to look at it a different way. Don't think of yourself as green, think of yourself as..."

He tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear as he thought of a word.

"...emerald. Like the city."

She raised an eyebrow, "The city that harbors the evil, animal-silencing Wizard of Oz?"

"You are such a bright ray of sunshine."

She grinned shyly.

"Well it doesn't matter that you are inexperienced. You were perfect." He leaned forward, leaving a light kiss on her collarbone. Sitting back, he looked at her expectantly. "So, what was it that you were saying? Before I kissed you. I'm sorry I uh... cut you off."

"Huh?"

Flushed and elated from the kiss, all Elphaba's thoughts of confessing her true plan to Fiyero had vanished into the still, dry air of the ballroom. All she wanted to do was kiss him again.

Leaning forward she left a few soft, tentative kisses on his lips.

"It was something important, right?" He asked, between her kisses.

"It was nothing."

"Good."

Grabbing her, her kissed her again, more fiercely. Elphaba let out a sharp exhale of breath as his tongue ghosted her lips.

The sound of the large door slamming open broke them apart. Elphaba turned to look at the tiny pink-clad figure who was running towards them, a sense of urgency in her steps.

"Glinda?" She called out, confused.

On a normal occasion, the fact that Glinda had just caught Elphaba making out with her ex-boyfriend would have made Elphaba nervous and guilty. However, focusing on the approaching form of her roommate, Elphaba's heart, which just moments ago was thumping with exhilaration started hammering in alarm. The normally bouncy, confident girl looked absolutely stricken.

"What's going on? Is everything alright?"

"You two have to leave... now," Glinda's eyes were shining with terror, "Hurry up. They're coming!"

Elphaba's brow furrowed in confusion, "Who?"

"Madame Morrible and the Wizard's men. They know about your plan."

"How would they..." Elphaba began, but she stopped, the truth hitting her hard in the gut. Her hand flew to her mouth.

"You... told them?" Elphaba's voice was full of horror, "Why?"

Her eyes brimming with tears, Glinda turned to look at Fiyero. A few moments passed before a look of comprehension suddenly appeared on the prince's face.

"Because of the thing with Nessa?" He asked, appalled, "But Glinda, I told you, we weren't..."

"I know!" Glinda said tearfully, "Boq told me just a few minutes ago that Nessa had been doing all these weirdodious things to get him back... and to take revenge on me..."

"What thing with Nessa? What's going on?" Elphaba looked from Glinda to Fiyero with fearful bafflement.

Fiyero looked pained. "Glinda saw... Uh. I'll explain the details later... but basically Glinda saw something and thought it was something else and she..."

"I told Madame Morrible that you and Fiyero were planning on exposing the Wizard." Glinda made no move to wipe the tears that were now free falling down her cheeks. "I'm so so sorry! I know I shouldn't have, Elphie, but I was angry and in that moment of rage... I felt guilty the minute I did it, but it was too late. She already saw that the letter was missing...and now if they find it on you..." Glinda let out a sob. "You have to go, right now. You have to..."

"Are they here?" Elphaba asked, "In the Ballroom?"

"No, but they'll be coming soon. Madame Morrible was waiting for the Wizard's men to arrive. They want to catch the two of you before you can make the announcement."

"We don't have much time then." Fiyero said, jumping off the table, "We have to leave now. Come on, I think there's a door leading out from here."

Following him, Elphaba and Glinda searched the back wall until Elphaba found the door.

"Here!" She called to the others.

She pushed it open letting in a large gust of wind. Then, huddling together, the three of them scurried out into the cold. Glinda and Fiyero turned to walk towards the forest, but Elphaba stood rooted in her place.

"Wait," she called out to them.

The two of them stopped, turning back to look at her with bewilderment.

"What are you doing?" Fiyero yelled, "We have to get out of here."

"There's something I need to get first," she called back.

She turned and began speed walking in the other direction.

_What is she doing? _Fiyero thought, starting to panic. _Madame Morrible and the Wizard's men are looking for us and she's walking straight into their territory!_

"We have to go after her," Fiyero said, turning to Glinda, "She's heading towards Shiz. Even if the Wizard's minions aren't there yet, Madame Morrible could have alerted someone to look out for her... and it's not like she's very difficult to spot."

Glinda nodded silently and the two of them ran after the green girl.

_That girl really is a commotion, _Fiyero thought to himself, as they chased after her.

They reached the library panting, just as Elphaba disappeared into it. Following her, they found themselves in the large, empty front room. The only other person there was the girl manning the main desk who was asleep, snoring softly.

"Everyone else must be at the party." Glinda said, looking around the room.

They spotted Elphaba walking around the study tables, looking for something. Fiyero and Glinda stopped before her, sending her aghast looks, which she ignored.

"Really?_The library?_" Fiyero asked her, "You risked your life so that you could have a copy of Charles Chickens to keep you entertained?"

"It's Charles Dickens and he's an author, it's not the name of a book." Elphaba corrected him, distractedly.

"I don't care, Elphaba!" He said, coming up behind her, "We have to get out of..."

Fiyero's voice faltered as Elphaba triumphantly pulled something out from under a desk.

"A bag?" he gave her a stunned look, "You were going to... I don't believe this!"

Glinda gasped. "You were going to run away? After the party tonight?"

Elphaba deflated. "I... well, yes but..."

Glinda's lower lip quivered slightly. "You were going to run away without saying goodbye?"

Elphaba looked helplessly at Glinda and then turned to Fiyero. The Winkie Prince had his back to her, his arms crossed tightly across his chest.

"I had a feeling they would come after me tonight. I just didn't want..." she started.

"Let's just get out of here." Fiyero said harshly, cutting her off. As he turned to face her, she could see that his eyes held a dark look. "They'll be coming after us soon. Just take your damn bag and let's go, alright?"

"I have a reason. I can explain..."

"Explain later."

"Fiyero!"

But the Prince had already left the library, slamming the oak doors behind him.

* * *

**So that's that. I might take a bit longer with the next chapter. A work project is due in the next few days so I'll be doing that. Also, another reason why this chapter took a bit was because this is the penultimate chapter. So, given that next chapter is the last one I really want it to be as perfect as it can be. **


	10. Chapter 10

**The 'dollophead' thing in this chapter is a BBC Merlin reference. It's sort of nod to that show... because Fiyero and Elphaba sort of remind me of Merlin and Arthur (come on... the adorable, selfless, intelligent, kind, sarcastic one with magic and the hot, arrogant but secretly honourable, kind of dumb but not really, prince who adores the other one?). If you haven't watched Merlin, you totally should. **

**So anyway, here is it. The final chapter. **

* * *

**Chapter 10**

They reached the edge of the forest not having said a word since Fiyero had stormed out of the library. Glinda had hopped nervously for half the walk, presumably trying to come up with some way to break the awkward silence, but she too had remained quiet. Only the dull sounds of the music from the party could be heard as they walked, and that too faded into the night as they neared their destination. The silence was almost strangling.

When they eventually reached the tall tree that invited them into the darkness of the unknown forest, Elphaba turned to look at her roommate with a mournful expression.

"I guess this is where we separate," she said quietly. Glinda's eyes filled with tears again.

"Oh Elphie!" She said, pulling the lanky girl into a hug, "I'm so sorry."

"It would have ended like this anyway," Elphaba said, smiling wanly, "At least this way we get to say goodbye."

The two remained in their embrace for a few minutes before they reluctantly separated.

"We will meet again." Elphaba wasn't sure if she was assuring Glinda or herself. "Someday, somehow we will. I promise."

Glinda nodded tearfully and then turned to Fiyero, whose angry expression had softened as he looked at her.

"Goodbye Fifi," she said, wiping her eyes.

"Goodbye Lin." Her kissed her softly on the cheek, "I will miss you."

"I'm sorry... for everything."

"Don't worry about it," he said, "At least this way, _someone's _true intentions were revealed."

The jibe was meant for Elphaba of course, but Fiyero refused to look in her direction as he said it. Elphaba didn't hear it either; she had wandered away from them, and was gazing into the forest with uneasiness.

"She must have had her reasons." Glinda said, softly.

"It doesn't matter." His jaw was stiff, "I don't want to talk about it."

Glinda's heart thudded painfully as she noticed the look in his eyes.

"You really do love her..." she sniffled, "I'm sorry I didn't believe you."

"Forget about it," he smiled bleakly.

"Be careful alright? Don't get caught." her voice trembled, "And if you do, let Elphaba do the lying because you suck at it."

He laughed, "I won't. Now get out of here. I don't want you to get in trouble as well."

Glinda sent him a small smile as she wiped her eyes. Then shooting Elphaba one last, long melancholic look, she turned around and headed back to the party.

Fiyero watched with a heavy heart as their friend disappeared into the foggy night.

**x x x**

It had officially been 27 minutes since Fiyero had last spoken to her. Elphaba felt pathetic that she had been counting.

She had told him about Kwox and how if they walked for six hours through the forest, they would reach a boat that could take them there. He had followed her dutifully as she led the way through the leafy forest paths, but the whole time he hadn't said a word. He just stared at the ground, avoiding muddy patches and tree roots with a dark expression on his face. As the loud clangs of a clock tower warned them that it was almost midnight, Elphaba made up her mind.

_Alright, that's it, _she thought as she watched him angrily swat at a fly,_ I have to get him to say something. _

Ever since they had left the library she had wanted to say something. To explain. To tell him that she had attempted to tell him the truth... but every time she looked at his face she swallowed her words.

She had never seen him so angry before.

She'd seen him annoyed - getting red and flustered with an adorable scowl on his face. But this wasn't like that. His face was hard, his body was stiff and his eyes held a frosty stare.

He was absolutely furious.

And despite the fact that for some ungodly reason she was finding his rage incredibly attractive, she knew that she couldn't keep going like this. She couldn't bear the silent treatment.

So she had come up with three techniques to try to get him to forgive her - The Sorrowful Approach, The Joke and Being Firm. She hoped that she only had to use one, but seeing the way he was refusing to even look in her general direction, she highly doubted it.

"Fiyero."

The prince remained silent, his eyes fixed straight ahead at an upcoming canopy of leaves.

"Fiyero, I'm really sorry."

Nothing.

"I'm really, really sorry. It was a mistake. I... I was wrong. I know that now... but my intentions were good," she bit her thumbnail nervously, "Come on, please... you haven't even heard my side of it... you have to forgive me."

"I don't _have _to do anything," he snapped.

Well, at least he had spoken to her. But it was obvious that The Sorrowful Approach wasn't working.

"So," she began again, forcing a smile on her face, "Apart from the map, I have some clothes in my bag. It's not much, but I know you don't have anything, so feel free to borrow whatever you need. I have a blue skirt that will look really nice on you."

He finally turned to look at her. Unfortunately, it was to shoot her a glare.

"I didn't know I had to pack a bag," he said, icily, "_Someone_ forgot to mention it to me."

She sent him a sheepish smile, "I think it works out for the best. The skirt matches your eyes."

His blue skirt-matching-eyes narrowed, "You think this is funny?"

"No," she said, meekly.

So The Joke had failed too. She was reluctant about the Being Firm technique, but the stifling silence reminded her that she didn't really have much of a choice. It was all she had left. She steeled herself.

"Come on, Fiyero," she said, "Snap out of it."

The prince stopped dead in his tracks, immediately making her regret her words.

"_Snap out of it? _Oh yes, clearly, _I'm _being unreasonable." His eyes flashed. Sarcasm dripped thickly from his each word. "_Clearly _the fact that you were planning on running away without saying goodbye to me is something I should just laugh about. _Ha ha_. There I was, confessing that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you, and all the while _you_ were planning on running away and never seeing me again. So had my ex-girlfriend not ratted us out to Madame Morrible, I would have been stuck in that stupid party wondering where you were, while you were off traipsing in the woods, perfectly content with having just abandoned me. But you're right. Things are peachy. I should just _snap out of it._"

The wounded expression that had suddenly appeared on his face shook her. She could deal with his anger, but seeing the undisguised pain in his eyes forced her back into silence. They continued walking, neither of them looking at each other.

It wasn't long before it started pouring - large, cold drops of rain that slithered down both their backs as they trudged through the wet mud. They had been walking for a hour and a half when they finally reached a small, grassy clearing. Sore and cold, Elphaba had suggested that they take a break and get their energy back. Without waiting for his response she sat down on the cold ground, clutching her arms in an attempt to stop shivering. Fiyero had wordlessly handed her his jacket, before sitting down on a dead tree trunk at the other end of the clearing.

She put on the jacket, slowly, relishing the warmth and the smell. She watched Fiyero on the tree trunk as he gazed off into the darkness, his mind elsewhere, the tormented expression still in his eyes.

She thought back to what he had said about wanting to be with her forever. How did the concept of having to spend his whole life with one person not terrify him? How did he not get shudders at the idea of having to see her face every single morning till the day he died? But the more she looked at him - the way the raindrops ran down his face, plastering his blonde hair to his forehead before settling down on his eyelashes - the more she realized that spending her life _without_ him was a far more terrifying concept.

_Oh Fiyero, _she sighed to herself, _I do love you. _

The realization didn't startle her. She wondered if that meant she had been in love with him all along.

A crow landed on the tree trunk next to Fiyero. As soon as he spotted it, his eyes got wide and he tried to scramble away from it, but in his haste he fell over. The bird, sensing the commotion, flapped away... which just ended up frightening Fiyero more. He gasped, shielding his face with his arms. Elphaba tried to hold back her laughter, but failed. Hearing her giggles, he turned and gave her a scowl. Then he resolutely sat on the ground, pretending like it had never happened.

Getting up, she walked quietly over to his side. She sat down beside him, drew her legs up to her chest and rested her head on his shoulder. He didn't flinch away, which she took as a good sign.

They sat in a comfortable silence for a few minutes.

"I didn't tell you because I didn't want you to give up your whole life in Oz for this," she said finally, "I didn't want you to have to spend the rest of your life with the green girl."

"But that's what I want." All the harshness was gone from his voice. "I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Why don't you understand that?"

"I didn't know that before tonight. Before the party I didn't even know if you had feelings for me."

"Whatever it is... the fact still remains that both of us broke into the office. We were in on it together. You could have at least _told_ me what you were planning on doing," his voice cracked slightly, "I would never have seen you again."

"I'm sorry," she said quietly, "I'm a loser."

He rested his head on hers.

"You're not a loser."

"No?"

"You're a... a dollophead."

"That's not even a word."

"It is."

"Define it."

"Elphaba Thropp."

She giggled. "You're an idiot."

But she huddled closer to him. The sudden warmth between them made the cold, desolate rain seem insignificant.

"I love you," she said finally, "I didn't say it before... because I didn't know if I did. But I know now. I love you.

He smiled, "I already knew that."

"How? I didn't know it until a few minutes ago."

"But I did," he kissed the top of her head, "Because it's fate. Whatever happens or happened or will happen doesn't matter because we're meant to be together. Even if things had gone differently. Even if... Glinda and I had been engaged... and you had run away without saying goodbye and become a fugitive... and I had started working for the Wizard... someway, somehow you and I would have still ended up together."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because I can feel it. I'm not going to say I knew it from the beginning, but somewhere along the way it hit me. You were never meant to just be anybody to me. And look how things worked out... you were planning on running away without telling me and we still ended up together."

She sat up and looked into his eyes which were filled with contentment despite the fact that they were both soaking wet and cold and covered in mud.

"It's fate that you and I ended up together, Elphaba, and nothing anyone can say or do will ever change that."

**x x x**

A gruff voice startled Elphaba awake. She looked around, trying to figure out whether she had actually heard it or whether it was from a fleeting dream.

"Fiyero," she hissed, shaking the prince's shoulder.

He sat up, blearily.

"Oh crap," he said, rubbing his eyes, "We fell asleep."

She placed a hand over his mouth. They listened intently, but there was nothing apart from the sounds of the forest.

"What is it?" he whispered, moving her hand out of the way.

"I... heard something."

"What?"

"A man's voice."

"What was he saying?"

"I couldn't tell."

She stood up and walked towards some of the trees.

"You must have been dre..."

The sound of leaves rustling made Fiyero fall silent. He looked wide-eyed at Elphaba.

_There's someone there. _

"Get them!"

Dozens of men in matching Emerald uniforms burst from the trees around them, rifles clutched in their hands. Fiyero scrambled to his feet and joined Elphaba at the edge of the clearing. The men were coming at them from all sides.

_No _

Elphaba looked around wildly

_No no no! _

The men were aiming their rifles at their stomachs.

"Don't try anything." One of them commanded, "We are arresting you on behalf of the Wizard of Oz."

"The Wizard will be here soon." Another one said.

"He's here already." The first one said, "He'll want to talk to them. Seize them."

The men lunged at them. Elphaba side-stepped the one who tried to grab her, but Fiyero wasn't so lucky. One of the men grabbed hold of his arms, kicking him in the back so that he fell onto his knees.

_No! _

Another man tried to grab Elphaba, but she pushed his rifle forcefully, causing him to fall backwards over a large rock.

They were coming towards her now, the whole hoard, their eyes staring menacingly at her.

"You might as well give up, girlie, we have guns... and we're not afraid to use them." One of them snarled.

"You can't kill me," she tried to sound resolute, but her voice was trembling, "You just said the Wizard wanted to see me alive."

"He wanted to see _one _of you alive," the man shrugged.

Suddenly, the man holding Fiyero kicked him in the back. The one next to him pressed his gun against the prince's head.

"I'm sure the Wizard won't miss this one."

Fiyero struggled against the man holding his arms, but the gun pressed against his temple made his movements weak.

"It doesn't matter," he called out to her, "Run. Let them do whatever they want to me, don't let them catch you!"

The men were coming closer to her now, arms and rifles outstretched.

"There's nothing you can do now, girl. You might as well come quietly."

"NO!" She screamed.

The sparks shot out of her fingers without warning. All the men were thrown back, their rifles falling from their hands, their eyes glazed. Their limbs began spazzing out of control. The man holding Fiyero fell on top of him, legs flailing. Elphaba was gasping, suddenly weak. Grunting under the weight of the man, Fiyero pushed him off and then ran towards her, grabbing her hand.

The next thing she knew the two of them were racing down the forest path, ducking past branches and running through puddles of water. She felt drained, empty almost... but she ran manically, knowing only that she _had to get away. _

Eventually they stopped, crumpling onto the ground in exhaustion.

"That... thing... that you do. It never fails to amaze me." Fiyero wheezed.

Elphaba's eyes were wide.

"They were going to kill you," she said, almost mechanically, "They were going to shoot you in the head."

"Yes, and you saved me."

She turned to him, her features distraught.

"No you don't understand, Fiyero! I didn't plan any of this!" Her eyes were filling with tears, "I don't know what I'm doing! Are we kidding ourselves? We'll never get out of this alive! They'll come after us, and I don't have the energy to ward them off again!"

"Hey... " He pulled her into a hug. He was trying to seem brave, but she could feel him shaking, "We'll figure something out."

"The Wizard is here," she mumbled into his shirt, "We'll never get away now."

"The Wizard needed _your _magic, remember? I don't think he's as powerful as everyone thinks he is."

"That doesn't matter."

She pulled away from him, her eyes still stricken. "I don't have a plan! Even if we do manage to get away from them, what will we do? We have to live, don't we? We have to earn!"

He gave her a faint smile, "We can go to the fair."

"Huh?"

"And use my... what was that you said? Oh yeah... use the air in my empty head to blow up balloons. And we can sell them and get money."

Despite everything, she couldn't prevent a small laugh. Fiyero held her shoulders and looked into her eyes.

"It doesn't matter what happens, alright? We're together and we'll keep trying till the very end."

"But how will we outrun them? How will we get away?"

"I guess all we have to do is keep running."

She gave him a doubtful look and he shrugged, "My head is filled with air, what ideas do you expect me to have?"

She shook her head, "There are men trying to kill us and you're still making jokes."

"What can I say? I love to hear you laugh."

She smiled determinedly at him, "Alright, let's do it. Let's run."

"Which way is that boat?"

Elphaba realized with a rush of dread that she had dropped her bag when the men attacked them... and by default, that meant that she had dropped the map too.

"I lost the map!" She cried, her hand flying to her mouth, "What do we do?"

"Uhh," Fiyero looked around the area, "Alright, you check that side and I'll check this side... tell me if you see any sign of a way out of the forest."

She nodded and they separated. Gingerly, she walked through a set of large trees on the right. Pushing through branches and bushes, she found herself in a large, grassy clearing.

What was waiting for her there, however, was something she hadn't expected.

Not in a million years.

"Fiyero!" she screamed, "Fiyero, come here!"

Standing before her, with bold red and white stripes stood a hot air balloon. 'The Wonderful Wizard of Oz' its large dome proclaimed. The basket below, however, was empty.

Completely empty.

Fiyero emerged from the trees, almost crashing into her.

"What is..."

"We found our way out."

His eyes got wide as he gazed at the object before him.

"What do you know, it's a balloon."

**The End**

* * *

**Hope you liked it.**

**And yes, I have actually planned a sequel. I had this image of Fiyero and Elphaba as a married couple and it was so adorable I decided I had to write a short sequel. But I began thinking about it a lot and it turned into a full-fledged story. So yeah, it's probably not going to be as short as I had initially thought (But then again, Balloons was supposed to be ****only 3 chapters long and now its 10, so the sequel probably was never going to be short anyway).****  
**

**But yes, I had a few questions... a) would you guys be interested in reading a sequel set about 3 years in the future? and b) if yes, then what jobs do you think Fiyero and Elphaba would have if they lived in a small town? **

**Thank you to everyone who has reviewed, followed and favourited my story. I absolutely love you guys... particularly those of you who have been commenting regularly. Thank you so much. **


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